My Immortal
by Shiro Ryuu
Summary: [AU] Kharl is a very modern, moral vampire. He's even become a productive part of society, working as a private tutor. He's got everything under control, really. Until he meets his latest student. KharlxRath. FINISHED!
1. Beautiful

**Disclaimer**: Mine, mine, mine! Bwuhaha! (person comes up and whispers in ear) O.O What, not mine? (sniffle)

**AN: **This fic is my dearest darling child, and it is hereby dedicated to the almighty B-chan :) Even though it's way more then I originally promised, so neh. After about two years (at least it _feels_ that long, I can't actually remember, heh) of hard work (well, I worked on it on and off, anyway, heh), it's finally done - but yes, I'm only going to be posting every four, five, seven-ish days, because I'm an evil pig. Actually, it's not really because I'm a review addict (though I _am_ that!), but because I'll probably be perfecting the story as I go, and if anyone happens to catch a horrible plot hole or irritating inconsistency or anything, I'd love to know about it as soon as possible. Agh, my poor little brain can't handle this much plot o.o;; In other news, this story has nothing to do with the song My Immortal, and was not in fact even inspired by it. I just thought the phrase was appropriate; if anything, large chunks of it might have been inspired by old Rolling Stones songs. But mostly it was something I came up with after watching Van Hellsing and staying up 'til four in the morning :) Enjoy, all!

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**Chapter One:** Beautiful

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They hadn't been _calling _for snow. But then again, in these parts you could never be too sure. There was actually a saying about it - if you don't like the weather, just stick around... or something like that. It had started as light flurries around third period, causing all the younger female students to 'ooh' and 'ah' and press their faces against the windows, but now it was a bit heavier than that. More than a bit, perhaps. Perhaps it came tumbling out of the sky like a smoke-colored avalanche and transformed the bare, cold ground into whitewater rapids. Perhaps.

Rath stared unblinkingly up at the sky for a moment, before getting in to the waiting limousine.

He hated snow. Bad things happened when it snowed...

For instance, he could see Thatz and Rune waving at him from where they waited for the bus. But there was another group of kids who were sneering and laughing behind their hands. Fedelta flipped him off, to the acute amusement of the rest of the group. Rath just ignored him and waved to his friends as the limo drove past.

"How was school, sir?" the chauffeur asked dutifully.

"Fine." Silence descended.

It was better than where he was going, anyway. Gods, he was this close to actually jumping out of a moving vehicle, if only he didn't know how much trouble he would get in later. Well, it wasn't so much getting in trouble, really, because that tended to involve yelling, and getting grounded, and stuff like that. More frightening was if they fussed and cried and whined and asked him are you okay? and why would you do such a thing? How sickening. This was the whole reason why the kids at school hated him. And to think, he'd had a chance at being normal...

Well, maybe. He'd never met his real parents, so for all he knew maybe they were just as bad as Lykouleon and Raseleane. Those were the kind of parents that adopted children, though; not the kind that put them up for adoption.

Officially, on paper, he was very lucky. Lykouleon owned a very large and more importantly very lucrative company, so he had enough money to support twenty children. Unfortunately, Raseleane was incapable of having any, so they'd adopted him. He had everything he could possibly want - servants, a thousand video games, tutors, top-of-the-line computers, a bath the size of a swimming pool, everything. Everything except freedom.

He hated it.

All too soon they reached the house. The mansion, the castle. The prison. The front gates swung open on their own, gently, as if they were being pushed by the snow-laden wind. Rath managed to remain completely expressionless, right up until he saw the new car in the drive-way.

"Who's here?" he asked quietly, as the limo pulled up in front of the main building.

"Ah, you refer to the car. I believe it belongs to your new tutor, sir," the chauffeur said, bowing as he held the car door open.

Rath nodded, and quite calmly went inside. He did not, however, stop to let the butler relieve him of his jacket. He didn't bother to take off his shoes, either. He shrugged the servant off and went silently but quickly to the room where Lykouleon and Raseleane usually took guests, and threw the door open.

The first thing he noticed about the man was that his hair was almost white, and for a moment Rath thought he must be another batty old fart. But then he realized the hair was deliberately spiked in a fashion that no old man would dare attempt, to say nothing of the fact that it had purple highlights. Actually, he had the face of someone in their late twenties, though his eyes looked maybe just a _bit _older than that...

Raseleane jumped, and Rath remembered to exhale. "Rath! You startled me! I'd think you'd know better than to go around slamming doors-"

"I thought I told you I didn't need another tutor," he hissed.

Lykouleon coughed politely. "Ah, yes, well. We felt that, since you just spend all afternoon locked in your room anyway, you might as well use that time to improve you studies." The way he smiled suggested that perhaps it wasn't that Rath spent a lot of time locked in his room that bothered him, but that he might actually spend a lot of time _pretending _to be locked in his room, while he was really... elsewhere. Rath scowled. "We thought that it would be especially important right now, since Raseleane will be spending some time at her mother's in Spain for her health and I'll probably be working late a lot soon, on the merger with... Rath?"

Rath was already too far off to hear. _Damn it..._

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It was hard work, being a 'modern' vampire. For one thing, pig's blood just wasn't completely satisfactory. But the fact of the matter was that the old-fashioned vampires, the type that went around draining innocent humans left and right, were looked down upon these days. And then of course he had to keep his true nature hidden, because if the humans found out that vampires were still around after all then no one would be safe. So that meant no plotting world domination - he had to do his best to live an ordinary life, at least during the daytime. He really couldn't say where the myth that vampires slept during the day because the light would kill them came from; he wished it were true. Vampires took no sleep, and during the day they were just... ordinary people, more or less.

In short all this meant, alas, getting a job.

He had found that he had quite a knack for teaching. He had been around long enough to know what he was talking about, after all. But he didn't really enjoy the classroom atmosphere that much; getting a whole bunch of teenagers together in a small room was a rather like saying 'What's the worst that could happen?', and tended to result in spontaneous combustion. No, he preferred a one-on-one teaching arrangement; children seemed to learn better that way anyway. And thus he had discovered the profession of the home tutor.

This seemed like a truly ideal job, too. The family was so rich that they were paying him the same amount he'd get for a regular six-days-a-week job for coming in just three days a week. It was a beautiful house, too, and they even gave him the valuable resource known as full access to the fridge. Then he heard about the kid.

_Gods. _Apparently he was actually very smart, so technically the whole teaching part of the job shouldn't be that hard. But it was getting him to actually sit down and do his homework that would be the trick. It seemed that he was often missing classes and getting in fights, and he had even been caught doing drugs on occasion. The boy was your basic Student from Hell. He personally felt that he would have given him a good hard smack, rather than kept getting him new tutors when he scared the old ones off, but he kept that to himself.

All and all, he felt he could probably handle it. It was hard to turn down that much money, and anyway, he had developed a great deal of patience over the years.

And _then_, the boy came in. For a moment they just stared at each other; for his part, he would have to admit he was surprised. He had been expecting some tattooed, nose-ringed, mohawk-ed nightmare, especially with a name like Rath, but the boy was actually quite... beautiful. The only unnatural thing about his simply-cut black hair was a white streak on the side. He was completely devoid of any tattoos or piercing, at least where he could see them. He had to wonder about the eyes, though. They might have been able to get away with calling them brown or hazel or something on official documents, but the fact of the matter was that they were really red, especially when the light hit them just right. Must be contacts...

"I thought I told you I didn't need another tutor!" Rath was saying. Oh dear.

The husband coughed politely, or perhaps nervously. "Ah, yes, well..." He tried to explain the situation, mostly by lying the vampire noted, but before he finished Rath had run out, slamming the door again behind him just like his adopted mother had told him not to.

There was a moment of highly unpleasant silence. Lykouleon sighed, massaging his temples as if he had suddenly discovered a migraine. Raseleane glanced at her husband, and stood. "So sorry about that; he probably just had a bad day..." She floundered for a moment, but rallied brightly. "Well, you'll be able to come out next Tuesday, won't you? Good, good..."

He said his fair-wells, and was shown out of the house by one of the many interchangeable family servants. He stared up at the snow for a moment, marveling at how heavily it was falling now. Beautiful. Then Kharl shivered slightly, and sighed as he continued to his car. Next week was going to be a very long week indeed...

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**AN**: Aw, poor Kharl, he has such a hard afterlife. Heh. Did anyone notice how cleverly I avoiding actually using his name right up until the very end? No? O.O Argh... (grin) Okay, so it's pretty short, but it's really just a little introductory chappy. In the next chapter, Rath and Kharl... have their first conversation! Bwuha... Er, R&R?


	2. Hazing

**Disclaimer**: If I owned Dragon Knights... well, hmm... (cackle)

**AN**: Well, I guess this is going to be a pretty short chapter too. But necessary! The first scene was largely inspired by Hot Gimmick, which is about as far from Dragon Knights as you can get, but there you go, heh. Sigh, only two reviews so far - but I guess that's not bad for something about Kharl ;)

Vaguely Downwards: (waves wildly) Hiiiiiii! Wow, just when I think you can't get any cooler, it turns out you read Dragon Knights too. Such taste! XD Though, truth be told, probably the reason it sounds so different from Mystic is that it was written so long ago, heh...

Aobikari: Thanks for reviewing - and for faving:)

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**Chapter Two:** Hazing

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By Tuesday, the snow had turned to a thin, slick layer of disgusting slush. Kharl was fascinated to discover that most of it had been shoveled off not only the mansion's front walk, but the driveway as well. He almost felt ashamed to drive on something so spotless.

After driving through a little less than a mile of disintegrating winter wonderland, he reached the house. Along with himself, he removed a bag of books and a box of cookies from the car. What better way to break the ice than with food? After all, he remembered what it was like to be a teenager, though admittedly he never craved cookies...

When the butler showed him up to Rath's room, he just had to take a moment to absorb it all. The rest of the house had an elegant look to it, something in between Victorian and European and Modern. This room, however...

The walls were painted black. So was the ceiling, though at least the carpet was red. It would have been very dark, except that rock posters covered so much wall space that you could barely see the color. There was a guitar in the corner. It appeared that the servants were never let in here, because there was crap all over the place. There was simply no way to describe it any more elegantly than that. The bed was unmade and covered in... _things_... and there was a distinct scent of rotten banana peels in the air. 'Gods...' Kharl thought. 'He may not look like a delinquent, but I'm feeling more inclined to believe it by the minute.'

Rath was sitting at a desk in the middle of it all, and Kharl was vaguely surprised to find that he had already started studying. He didn't even look up when they came in. The butler cleared his throat, and Rath sighed.

"Yeah, yeah. You may go, Johnson." Only after the door had closed again with a quiet 'click' did he set aside his pencil and make eye contact with his new tutor.

"Hi," he said curtly. "Go on; sit down."

Kharl arched an eyebrow. He'd met his share of sulky, unwilling pupils, but rarely had he been in charge of someone who so immediately came off as... arrogant. Spoiled. He hesitated a moment, and did as he was told. It was what he had been planning to do in the first place, after all. But honestly...

He pulled the chair over to Rath's side and looked over his shoulder at the textbook. "Ah, Trigonometry. You're a senior, right? Good. Okay..."

Rath sighed again. "Look... Kharl? I think there's something you really ought to know." He opened a drawer, and pulled out an envelope of the large yellow variety. "These are my grades from last year. I have a complete record for all the semesters if you'd like to see them..."

Mildly puzzled, Kharl pulled a few pieces of paper out of the envelope. "Let's see... English, A. Geometry, A-plus. Government, A. Chemistry, A. Business Education, A-plus..." He broke off, gaping. "But I thought you... your mother said you missed classes!"

Rath shrugged. "I did extra credit work. Would you like to see the year before that?"

Kharl shook his head wordlessly, looking over the page again in a vain attempt to find so much as a B plus. _Gods_... When he looked up again, he was smiling wryly. "Ah, I see. So basically, my job is to come here three days a week to make your parents happy, and then... sit down and shut up?"

Rath smiled too, in an equally humorless fashion. "You got it. You're a smart guy; I'm sure we'll get along just fine." He started to turn back to his work.

There were times when you really felt that something ought to be said, if only because you really need to hint that you were a bit lost. "I hate to take money from you parents for nothing," he said desperately.

Rath snorted, not looking up. "They've got enough to pay you thirty times what they are; I wouldn't worry if I were you."

And that seemed to be about it. Kharl settled back in his seat, feeling a little uncomfortable. Vampires weren't used to new experiences, but this certainly qualified. What an arrogant boy! He pitied the parents, he really did. But he also couldn't help but wonder why...

He realized with no small amount of irritation that Rath was staring at him. First he wouldn't look at him, and now he was staring...? "Yes?" he asked coolly.

"In fact, you don't even really need to be in here," he said, in an off-hand sort of way. "Why don't you go watch TV or something? Have a snack, maybe?"

Kharl paused momentarily again, then stood. "Thank you," he said gravely.

He shut the door behind him. Then he walked down the hall, noisily. _Then _he walked back to the door much more quietly, and listened.

He could hear the pencil scratch across the paper. At one point Rath erased something. A few minutes later, he ate a cookie. A few minutes after that, he stood up and opened the window.

Kharl flung the door open, a vision of vampiric rage. Rath had one leg already out the window. Before he could even get past the deer-in-the-headlights stage, Kharl had strode across the room and pulled him back inside by the collar, shutting the window with a 'bam.'

"Actually," he said, grinning toothily as only a vampire could, "I think I am needed. Really."

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The next day, there were voices on the other side of the door. Kharl frowned thoughtfully at it. He considered asking the butler to stay, but by the time he turned to him the man was already in the midst of bowing stiffly. He watched him going down the hall and out of sight, glowering lightly now. Oh well, he thought grimly; it might be better if he wasn't here anyway.

And then there was the question of knocking. Should he bother...? No. Two could play at this game, and anyway, it might be amusing to see what they were up to.

The scent of popcorn wafted over him. The three teens seemed to be trying to watch a movie, listen to music and surf the Internet all at once. He got a brief moment to observe the two newcomers - one was a boy with short, strangely green hair and scars who was scarfing the popcorn like there was no tomorrow, and the other had such pretty, long blond hair that he wasn't quite sure of the person's gender - before Rath stood up.

"Oh, hey Kharl!" he said, all smiles. "I didn't remember today was one of your days; sorry." From the uneasy looks of his friends, Kharl gathered that this was something of... an alteration of facts...

He beamed. "Oh, it's no trouble; no need to apologize. How about I just give you a few minutes to finish up, and then we can start?" _What a little brat..._

Rath's face remained 100 percent sweet-and-innocent. "Well, I don't know... I mean, we're right in the middle of this movie, and Rune hasn't seen it before... and we were planning to do our homework afterwards, together... You think you could come tomorrow?" He leaned closer, winking. "It'll just be between the four of us, you know? What do you say?"

"I really don't think your parents would approve, Rath."

He shrugged. "So what? What they don't know won't hurt them, right?"

Kharl frowned. 'He's really trying his best, isn't he? Seeing exactly how easy I'll be to get under his thumb... Bull.' "Can I talk to you outside, Rath?"

Out in the hallway, Kharl leaned against a wall. 'Why me...?' "I'm afraid that I really don't approve of your behavior," he commented. "I see what you're trying to do here, you know. It's very childish."

"Shut up," Rath snapped. "I'm surprised you even came back. You _do_ understand that I don't need a tutor, right? You can go ahead and call the school if you think I faked those grades."

"I don't think your parents hired me out of concern for you academic capabilities," Kharl said carefully, experiencing a sudden craving for aspirin.

"Fuck them!" Kharl raised an eyebrow. "They don't know what they're talking about. They don't even know who I am! And don't say I don't give them a chance, because-"

"_Rath! _...Thank you." Kharl sighed. "Rath... Do you hate me?"

"W-what? Of course I do!"

"No you don't." Rath scowled, but Kharl continued. "You couldn't possibly. What on earth have I ever done to you that could have inspired such vehement hatred? Me, as in me the person, not me the tutor your parents hired. Have I hurt you in some way? Called you names? I certainly can't remember doing anything like that, myself." He pushed himself off the wall. "It seems to me that you're not doing this because you want to, but because somebody else wants you _not _to... If you're going to be so childish, then I just don't think there's anything I can do here." He started walking down the hall.

'This is a big gamble, you know. Too big!' Part of him was informing him quite bluntly and with rude words that he was being an idiot for turning down such a high-paying job, that he should have just put up with the brat for at least a few more sessions. He really shouldn't be putting someone so proud in a position like this; there was no telling how he'd act. 'But then again, I guess I'm too proud too...'

Someone grabbed him coat sleeve.

"I'm not childish," Rath growled.

Kharl chuckled. "So you'll treat me as a person?"

"No. You're still just a stupid tutor." Rath looked down. "But if you go, they'll just hire someone else... So, well, you might as well stay, you know?"

Kharl smiled. 'Progress...'

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**A/N**: Bwuha. Yeah, I know, it sucked. And it was short. Agg! But don't worry; the next one will be _much_ more fun, and at least a little longer too ;) R&R and I will build a temple in your honor and burn offerings of pocky every day!


	3. Acquaintances

**Disclaimer: **Hey, look, don't sue _me_; the gerbils made me do it!

**AN: **Hmm... Well, we finally start to get into the real plot a bit in this chapter. The bad news is that, as with most things that I wrote a year or more ago, it's not nearly as well-written as I seem to remember it being, eh heh heh. And of course I'm far too lazy to make any major changes (plus B-chan might maul me), aargh... But just know this - the bit about the bathroom doorknob might seem like one of the least likely plot devices you've ever read, except that I wrote it because _my_ bathroom doorknob is like that. Luckily nobody has ever tried to get in there that way, but still... Anyway! Enough of my self-depreciating whining; even if _I_ think it's lacking, an astounding number of people still seem to think it's at least worth a review; IIIIIII lllllllllllllove yyyyyyyou :) Gee, offering to build a pocky shrine actually works...?

Ronin-N-Gang: (glomp) Aw, I'm sorry college is getting in the way of your fanfic reading! Silly college professors, have they no sense of priority? And, just think, next year... that's going to be me o.o;;... I think I'm gonna run away to Iceland now T.T But in any case, much thanx for taking time out to read this. I'm glad you like my description of Kharl; he's such a cutie ;) Eventually I'm going to have another Kharl/Rath fic up, which will probably be at least as long as this one... if I could ever just finish those last couple chapters, heh... Hmm, and you know, I don't think I ever did do anything with Rath doing drugs; it was just something I threw in there o.o;; But don't worry, I'm sure this fic will have plenty more loose ends just like that... On the other hand, I _definitely _did something with Rune's mention ;) I didn't even make him over-the-top feminine or anything, I'm so nice... Yeah, I've noticed that a lot of people make Thatz's hair red or orange, and I have a couple pictures of him like that, but I have way more of him with green hair, so that's how I tend to think of him. Thanks for reviewing both chapters!

Aobikari: Hee, strawberry pocky it is. But... strawberry pocky? Oh well; more chocolate pocky for me :D

Schnickledooger: I was like, 'Scknickerdoodle... Scknickerdoogle... Scknickledoodle...' I _love_ your username; it provides hours of entertainment for the whole family! XD And, as a bonus, I love your review too; I lurve anyone who lurves Kharl/Rath. Don't worry, this fic won't be abandoned; it's pretty much all written already. There are various parts that could use some tweaking and so on, but certainly nothing that will stop me posting regularly. I've actually got another Kharl/Rath in the works, but I don't want to start posting it until I know I won't get blocked and have to keep people waiting, cus that drives me crazy too :)

Vaguely Downwards: Hmm, but if I don't burn the pocky, how could it reach the higher plane upon which you dwell...? I know! The Chickens can take it! Incidentally, any chance of you joining the Evil Chicken Army cult...? Hee, but anyway. Aw, don't worry, you're one of those really amazing people who can actually manage to be perfectly cool _even without _having read Dragon Knights. _Especially _when you read fics before canon, and _especially especially _when those fics are mine :D Heh, but if you're going to start, I should warn you... the first couple books are a bit on the odd side. The first book is solid comedy (though after about ten books or so you go back and realize that there's a lot going on under the surface, go figure), and the second has hardly any funny bits at all, whereas the rest of the series is varying mixtures of serious and funny... Basically I'd say it starts getting good around book three or four - when Kharl-chan first shows up, in other words :D

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**Chapter Three: **Acquaintances

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And so the tutoring continued. Kharl was surprised to find that Rath gave him no more real trouble. He wasn't exactly the friendliest student he'd ever had - they didn't really talk that much - but somehow, apparently, he'd earned at least a small amount of begrudging respect. Anyway, it gave him a chance to catch up on his reading. On Friday he used some of his new-found fortune to treat himself to dinner out, though that didn't mean quite the same thing for vampires...

Of course, it wasn't what it sounded like, either. 'One would be too many' - that was what they said. There were... places he could go...

In fact, he was just beginning to think that he could get though this entire job without any more serious trouble, until he came over one Wednesday to find that Rath had barricaded himself in the bathroom.

By now he had been deemed fit to find his way to Rath's room on his own, so it came as a surprise when he was greeted by a butler. He muttered some apologies as he took Kharl's coat, and led him to the room.

"Run that by me again?" he said, staring at the firmly locked door.

"The young master apparently walked home by himself several hours ago," the butler explained. "No one saw him come in, and he will not let anyone see him now or tell us what is wrong."

Kharl sighed. He ought to get a raise for this... "Let me talk to him for a few minutes, would you?"

When the servant had left, he put his ear to the door. There was water running. "Rath? Hello?"

He was just beginning to wonder whether the boy had tried to drown himself, when he heard what sounded like someone leaning against the door. "Kharl?"

"Yes. Ye gods, you sound like you haven't slept in days. Are you okay?"

"Go away."

Kharl made himself comfortable, back against the door. "Sorry, wrong answer." Silence. "I could break this door down; I'm sure your parents could more than afford to pay for a new one. I might even be able to pick the lock." Silence. "Why should I go away?"

"Because it's none of your business."

"Oh, but it is. You're my pupil, and today is one of the days I'm supposed to teach you. Wouldn't it be funny if I had to say I couldn't because you'd locked yourself in a bathroom? Perhaps I could teach you through the door, pass papers underneath and that sort of thing?"

"It's not like you really do anything anyway," Rath snapped. Kharl smiled; ah, that was more like it.

"Of course, of course," he agreed. "However, what little I do do is at least making sure you _do _the work, and I can't even do that if you're locked in a bathroom. And besides," and here he surprised himself, "I must say I'm a bit concerned."

There was another pause, and Kharl was beginning to think he'd scared him off, but then he surprised them both and said, "Sorry. But today just isn't a good day, seriously. I'm not doing this to be mean to you or anything. Just... go away."

"No." Kharl smiled in a somewhat bemused way. "I'm afraid I can't do that. Do I need to repeat myself? I'm concerned."

"Why? You're not getting paid extra to be concerned, you know."

Kharl almost laughed at that. "Of course. But... I suppose I find you to be an interesting person. I'd really like it if you could consider me as more than an employee. I guess I'd like it if we could be friends. I know you must hear that all the time from your other teachers, but obviously they're not doing a very good job of it if a whole school full of them let you sneak out and hide yourself in a bathroom."

He heard what was very nearly a chuckle. "Yeah... I do hear that a lot." Silence.

Kharl sighed. "You're not going to let me in, are you?"

"No."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Well, okay then." He walked away. Inside, Rath blinked. Kharl smirked.

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And a few minutes later he returned, screwdriver in hand. On the other side of the door Rath jumped as he got to work.

"Who's there? What are you doing?"

"Me again," Kharl said cheerfully. "I don't know if you noticed, but this is a very unfortunately designed door. What is the point of being able to lock it, I ask you, if all one has to do is unscrew the handle from the outside?"

Silence. "Kharl?"

"Hmm?"

There was a click. "You can come in."

He raised an eyebrow. "But why? I've almost got it open."

Rath smiled slightly. "Yeah, but it'd suck to have to put it together again when you go."

Kharl came in. And nearly dropped the screwdriver when he discovered why Rath had barricaded himself. His face was nearly unrecognizable, though at least he'd cleaned it up somewhat and nothing appeared to be broken, but Kharl wasn't so sure about the rest of his body. His hair was matted, his clothes were ripped, and he was strangely frightened that Rath might be leaning against the bathtub because there was no other option. 'Don't be silly - he walked the whole way home! He's probably just a bit tired...'

Rath smiled at him, snapping him out of his daze. "You know, you're the first person who noticed that? I gotta say I'm impressed. Or at least, if any of the servants noticed, they were too chicken to actually do anything. You know, I think they're a bit scared of me... Shut the door, thanks."

Kharl knelt down next to him, amazed and secretly thanking the powers that be that it wasn't dark yet, with all this blood lying around... "What happened?" he asked, absentmindedly reaching out to touch Rath's cheek; he flinched. What on earth...

He shrugged. "I got in a disagreement with some... acquaintances of mine... They say my money is too good for me. I couldn't agree more, but even so they seemed to think they needed to emphasize the point..."

"Who?" he said curtly, absentmindedly swatting Rath's hands away as he checked for broken bones. A couple of bruised ribs at worst, but nothing broken... Though, lord, it looked like one of them had had a knife...

"Acquaintances."

Kharl sighed as he prodded Rath's arm. "Does this happen often?"

He shrugged again. "Not too often. They seemed particularly irritated today."

"Any idea why?"

"No."

_It's because it was snowing. You know it is, _don't_ you?_

"Oh, good." Kharl rocked back on his heels and eyed him sternly. "You really have to tell me who did this, Rath."

"Acquaintances," he said, staring right back. Kharl glared.

"I'm not taking no for an answer, you know. I assume your parents don't know about this? Yet, that is?"

Rath blanched. "Don't you fucking dare!" Kharl scoffed.

"Really, such language..."

Rath grabbed his sleeve; the desperation in his eyes shocked him for the second time that day. "Look, if I tell you who, who's to say you won't just turn around and tell my parents? Or the school?"

"This isn't just pride," Kharl said slowly. "They've got something on you, don't they?"

"No!"

"Yes, I think they do..."

Rath glared. "Just answer the question!"

Kharl smiled wryly. "Alright, on my honor... If I let any names slip to anyone, I'll quit, okay? So I won't be any more trouble to you? Sound fair?"

"Not really... Why do you even want to know, if you're not going to tell anyone?"

_Because I could punish them far worse than anyone else, and just might... _"Just in case," he said. "You know, just in case thing get too bad, and you... can't tell us yourself, right away..."

"That's what friends are for," Rath snapped.

There was a moment of silence. Kharl stared. What a peculiar sinking feeling; it'd been a long time since he'd felt like that...

Then Rath grimaced. "I... I'm sorry. Could you go get me some aspirin?"

So Kharl got the aspirin, and a glass of water. He raised an eyebrow as Rath swallowed both pills at once, and _then _drank the water, the whole glass at once. Rath grinned. "Usually I take three, you know... Fedelta and Saabel."

"What?"

Rath rolled his eyes. "You wanted to know, didn't you? Do you need me to write it down or something?"

Kharl gaped slightly. "...Thank you."

Rath shrugged. "Whatever." He stood, painfully. "Look, I'm feeling pretty crappy right now, so could we please skip it for today? The tutoring?"

Kharl stared. He thought Rath might have said 'what?', but he wasn't really sure. Skip the tutoring, he said. What did Rath think he was, some kind of insane demon? Well... But still. He could have laughed out loud. Instead, he shocked himself for the third time that day, by standing up and hugging him. 'Thank you...'

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Kharl licked his lips appreciatively, before dropping the fresh corpse in his hands. It'd been... so long... There would be hell to pay, no doubt. It could be decades before he heard the end of this, knowing vampires. But he was doing this for a just cause. Right?

The object that had recently been Fedelta hit the floor with a thud, but by then Kharl was already airborne.

Okay, so maybe it was over-kill. Yeah, yeah, yeah, whine whine. Scum like that didn't deserve to live. Considering the circles he probably dealt in, he practically had 'shoot me' plastered to his forehead anyway. He could taste the drugs in his blood, tainting it; it was a shame that his first kill in centuries was something so diluted...

The city lights glistened below him. He could make out places by now; he'd been here nearly a month. My, how time... flew... On a clear night like this, if he concentrated, he could imagine that he was flying over an ocean, and the lights below were actually reflections of the stars above. This high up he couldn't really hear anything, which helped increase the illusion. And here he was, flying the narrow line in between, never quite able to be part of either...

Of course, from there it was just a small step further to imagine that he was flying over an ocean _upside down_, and that was horribly unpleasant.

Why was he doing this? It wasn't like he hadn't had friends he'd been willing to kill for since he'd sworn off it. Friends came, friends... went. Was it just that he'd never had a reason? Was it that the bad guys had never been so full of shit before? Or... what?

The good guy might not be so pure either, he reminded himself. He should have asked. Having someone blow a few fairly large-ish holes in you can make you pretty forgetful, even if they had healed up already. He'd liked this shirt... Oh well. He still had another stop to make tonight.

It had been easy enough to track down the two boys. If Rath could sneak out of the school when there were people in it, then surely _he_ could sneak into the school when there weren't people in it and look at the records, especially when he happened to be a vampire... And to top it all off, Saabel slept with his window unlatched. How careless of him.

Kharl landed with a quiet _whump,_ scattering black feathers. Saabel muttered something and rolled over, but he didn't wake up.

Kharl paused next to the bed and delicately fingered a few strands of the boy's green hair. Gods, what a child. There was someone in his room who wanted to kill him, and he hadn't even woken up. He supposed that someone like this wouldn't have lasted long anyway. Was it really possible that such an amateur had done such horrible things to Rath?

He leaned down. "Saabel," he whispered. "Saabel, it's time to wake up."

Saabel groaned. "'Uck. Go 'way..."

"No." Kharl traced a long, thin red line down his cheek with a claw; Saabel's eyes snapped open.

"Shit!" Eyes wide, Saabel scrambled away and, in his hurry, fell off the bed. "Who are you?!"

"A dangerous madman." Kharl lifted him up by the collar; Saabel's hands automatically flew to his pockets. After about five shots he seemed to realize that it wasn't having any affect; Kharl rolled his eyes. "Please stop that. I'm going to have to buy a new shirt as it is." Frantic, Saabel twisted his head and managed to bite him, and then watched as the skin healed in front of his eyes.

Kharl sighed. "Are you done? This is all making me very... hungry..." He smiled. This tended to be rather informative with vampires.

He had to admit that he was impressed; after just a few moments of horrified silence, Saabel managed to say, "What do you want?"

"What did Rath do to you?"

Saabel gaped. "W-what are you talking about?"

Kharl glowered. "I really don't have time for this. Rath Illuser. You have a grudge against him, and you also know something that he doesn't want anyone else to know, and it wouldn't surprise me much if they were the same thing. What is it?"

Saabel stared at his wings for a moment, and made a strange choking sound. "If I tell you, will you leave?"

Kharl smiled again. "Of course." He let him go as a gesture of good will; Saabel collapsed to the bed, coughing.

"Freshman year. It was freshman year," he finally managed to say. "He was this snotty rich kid, you know, so we kind of picked on him... And then one time we got in a fight, and he... killed a couple people. With his bare hands. Their names were Gil and Bierrez." He grinned in a rather deranged way. "We were really impressed. We asked him to join us, but he wouldn't. His loss. Now he doesn't even fight back." Saabel shrugged. "He doesn't want anyone to find out that he's a murderer, so he doesn't talk either. It's a shame; he would've made a great - hey, what're you-! Oh my g..."

Kharl spat. Disgusting; this one tasted worse than the first one. So, Rath had a gang after him. But more importantly, Rath was a... He shivered. Like he could complain. Ye gads, was there ever going to be hell to pay. Then he kept his promise and left, leaving nothing but feathers behind.

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**AN: **Reeeeeeeeeeeviews. Cooooooooooffee. But mostly reeeeeeeeeeeviews.


	4. Necessity

**Disclaimer:** I'm holding the rights hostage. Leave an unmarked crate of manga, coffee, and chocolate on the north pier by midnight, November the 19th...

**AN:** Oi, the cheeeeeese. Mmm, pepper-jack cheese; does anyone else like pepper-jack cheese...? I'm sleepy, and cold, and I just got shots in **both** arms yesterday; have pity! In other news, yeah, I can remember being really excited about this chapter as I was writing it, and I guess it does have its good parts. Kharl gets to be all bad-ass for a bit XD And yet... reading it now, if I wasn't so fond of it, I'm afraid I'd probably find some parts really corny... Oh well; there are a lot of interesting new developments even so, so I hope at least some people will enjoy it :) And speaking of, oh my goodness! (blush) I feel, like, special or something. I can't believe how well this old thing has been received so far. I hope it remains as popular...? Love and hugs, ya'll!

Schnickledooger: Hee, you're not the only person who thought that killing off some of the characters so soon was bold. Don't worry, plenty more people will die before the story is over; that's one of the things I like about it XD (sadistic, me...?) I'm glad no one has been mad at me over that so far... Incidentally, your question about Nadil will be answered in this chapter - well, he's nothing as exciting as the vampire lord, though at least he has attained some kind of leadership position... I probably toyed with the idea of making him the vampire lord at some point, but I'm glad I didn't - especially when it's so obvious that the readers think of it! Can't have that, hee... Also, I'm glad you like my serious scenes; it's the other way around for me, it's virtually impossible for me to write straight comedy T.T

Ronin-N-Gang: (blushie) She likes my style... you sure know what to say to a girl XDD Considering that I'm one of those silly tortured artists who tends to obsess over style and forsake plot... As for it being surprising that Saabel was one of the boys beating on Rath - well, recall that this was written a year or so ago, heh. Probably only a couple books about him had come out at that point; I certainly didn't know about his secret past yet... Ah well; at least I killed him off quickly enough to stop it from becoming a major problem XD And I'm super glad that you mentioned 'Fakcy-kun, because it happens that he does make a small appearance - though it was only for one chapter, I enjoyed writing him :) I'm gonna write a Kharl/'Fakcy one of these days, really...

Aobikari: Thanks for reading! Glad you're still liking it :)

Imnotcrazy-really: (waaaves) Hi there! Ah, another fun name ;) I'm glad you like the idea, and think that Rath's IC... I hope Kharl's not _too_ different from how he is in the manga? He's just so hard to figure out; one minute it's slapstick comedy, and the next he's all dark and evil-like... I guess this Kharl is kind of a mix, or something, maybe...? Heh...

Astarte: Eeie! XD People with cool names just flock to this story, it seems... (composes self) In any case, I'm glad you like it, and I hope I didn't take too terribly long (I know, could've been faster, I'm bad, eh heh...).

Yoko Jaganshi: Yay, another new person! Thanks for all the reviews right off the bat! I'm glad you like my character descriptions - cus with such great material to work with, they're fun to write XD - and that you think it's all holding together well so far. And don't worry, the killing of canon characters has only begun; in fact, there's another one this chapter! (evil, evil sadist...) Sorry if my summary is corny (I already know my title is, heh), but at least it seems to be doing its job if you're reading this ;) Hope my update didn't take too long!

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**Chapter Four:** Necessity

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There were places he could go, but they weren't nearly so friendly anymore. News traveled fast among the undead community, after all.

That night, a little less than a week later, in the dark and musty but very lively bar, Kharl was like a tiny island surrounded by a vast and particularly tense ocean of quiet. The bartender was the only one brave enough to venture into it, and only when it was absolutely necessary. He sipped pigs' blood, the 'only' drink among the modern vampires, and grimaced. Their blood had been... _better_...

It had probably been too soon to try coming here again. He was hoping that his presence would eventually assure them that it was all just a fluke. It had been a big shock when one of the leaders of the modern movement had disobeyed the first rule, twice in a row, for no apparent reason. But he'd had a good reason! ..._Really_...

What was it about Rath that made him want to protect him? There was really nothing special about the boy. The most unique thing about him was that he was a bloody murderer. And yet he had been willing to do a great deal of damage to his reputation, pristine for centuries, not to mention the fact that what he'd done had been like the human equivalent of suddenly breaking down and smoking a whole pack of cigarettes after years of thinking he'd kicked the habit. It would take ages to get over it, possibly quite literally.

Why had he done something so stupid? Why? Why...

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It was becoming almost a relief to visit Rath. It was strange, but for a while he was going to have to get used to being treated more normally by humans than by his own kind.

When he knocked on Rath's door the second Thursday after the 'unfortunate and bizarre deaths of two students of the local high school,' as the newspapers were saying, no one answered. He frowned, and after hesitating a moment, let himself in.

Rath lay sprawled out on his bed, covered in junk as it was, breathing gently. 'Sprawled' was definitely the word; he looked like he hadn't meant to fall asleep. He still had his shoes on (despite never-ending efforts of the servants to get him to leave them at the door) and the strap of his back-pack, which was resting against the bed, dangled from his fingertips. Kharl smiled. _Aw... What a slob._

"Rath?" he said quietly. When that didn't work he knelt down, shaking him gently. "Rath, time to wake up..." Hmm, where had he seen this before? He shivered, pushing that thought away.

Rath's eyes fluttered open, and after a moment he laughed. "Kharl? What time is it?"

"Four fifteen."

He scoffed. "You're kidding." He sat up, shaking his head to clear it. "Wow, I guess I... fell asleep."

"Late night?" Kharl said conversationally, getting up and dropping his bags on the desk.

Rath frowned. "No. It was kind of a long day..." He yawned hugely.

"Ah..." _Why didn't I just become a psychiatrist in the first place and get it over with? _"What happened?"

"Oh, you know... People are still talking..." In that disturbing way of his, Rath was suddenly serious. "You believe that I didn't kill Saabel and Fedelta, don't you?"

Kharl could have laughed out loud. "Of course I do," he said, with feeling. "Here; I brought more cookies."

Rath eyed the box warily. "Home-made?"

This time Kharl did allow himself to laugh. He was actually a very good cook when he tried, but he tended to get carried away with experimenting... "You know me too well. No, they're safe; I bought them at this little pastry shop off 7th, you ought to go there sometime..." Rath yawned again. "How about I make some coffee?"

Rath agreed, so Kharl went down to the kitchen and put some coffee on. The servants had gotten used to him doing things himself by now; it wasn't that he'd never had servants, but these days being waited on made him uncomfortable. 'After all,' he thought wryly, 'it's been a few centuries... as my associates are so courteously reminding me...'

He stared out the window into the misty drizzle. They'd been calling for a chance of sleet or even snow, but so far the rain didn't seem to be letting up. It looked like winter was nearly over; spring would be starting soon. 'Poor Rath... Spring break would do him some good right now, though of course all the gossip will have probably died down by then no matter how nasty it is at the moment...' Kharl sighed, turning away. 'Hopefully the society will have calmed down by then too. I'd just better be on my best behavior...'

No killing or Turning, except in extreme circumstances, that was the first rule. He should know; he'd help set them out. Second, keep a low profile. Don't let anyone find out what you were without gaining permission from the Council first, because if word leaked out, well, there would be a spike of first rule infringements, that was for sure. It was well understood that vampires and humans could never peacefully coexist unless the humans didn't know they were doing it, and anyone who thought otherwise was severely reprimanded. Those were the basic guidelines, though of course there were plenty of other details such as not revealing the location of gathering spots to mortals, agreeing to take 'new' vampires under your wing if called upon to do so, etc., etc...

The coffee finished. Kharl arched an eyebrow as the coffee maker made a small beeping noise; how disgustingly rich of them... He poured two cups, putting milk in Rath's and great heaps of sugar in his, and carried them back up to the room.

As most people do, it was only then that he realized he couldn't get into the room with his hands full. Sweatdrop. He nudged it with his foot experimentally; ugh, no, he'd latched it. "Rath? Rath? I've got the coffee..." Silence. "Rath...?" He sighed, setting his cup on the floor and opening the door.

...Good gods. Rath had at least made it to his desk before he'd fallen back to sleep, though this made it that much more incredible that he now looked like he'd been asleep for hours. "Rath?" He set Rath's cup down next to his head. "I'm not drinking that, you know; I hate milk."

Nothing. 'It's worse for him, really,' Kharl mused, pulling up a chair. 'I can avoid the society if I want. He has to go to school every day. I might as well let him sleep.' He pulled the backpack over to his side of the desk, and quietly got to work.

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_Hmm... The formula was first formulated - oh, wait, that sounds bad. Discovered? Do you 'discover' formulas? Invented? Damn, I've lost the word... _Kharl sighed, and set the pencil down. _Ooh, my head. I shouldn't be doing this. It doesn't really need done today; I should leave him **some**... _He smiled slightly. Rath was still deep asleep, his head nestled in his arms. With a jolt, Kharl realized the sun was setting already. Well, it got dark early in winter, after all. He needed to be more careful, though; if he didn't hurry he might have to Change in an alley, and that was never fun...

He felt a little bad about leaving the boy like that, though. He would wake up feeling like he'd hardly gotten any rest at all if he slept in such an awkward position. Should he carry him to bed? That might wake him up, though. He hesitated a moment, then shrugged to himself. Well, he might as well try.

He carefully disentangled Rath from the desk, marveling at how light he was. He'd noticed before what long, slender limbs he had, almost like a girl's, but seriously. Did he eat at all? He held his breath when Rath made a small noise in his arms, but he didn't wake up, so he laid him gently on the bed and pulled the messy covers over him as best he could. He looked so much more peaceful than he'd ever seen him while he was awake, despite the slightest hint of a fading black eye...

Not quite sure why he did so, he knelt down and kissed him on the cheek. "Sleep well..." Then he turned and gathered up his belongings and left, perhaps just a little hurriedly.

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To Kharl, the night had always been beyond description with mere words. It was ancient and dangerous and powerful and utterly exhilarating to be a part of, but really, that didn't say much. The past seemed a lot closer at night.

Of course, the nature of the night had changed over the past few years. The humans with their fancy guns and bright lights thought they were safe from the night, and they had made some impressive improvements. They'd killed most of the simpler creatures that hunted them, for instance. Most impressive. The vampires only left them alone out of pity, however. The night was still out there; it had just been forgotten for the moment. It lay dormant.

And then of course there was one other hunter the humans couldn't exterminate, and that was each other. Now that they'd run out of natural enemies, they squabbled amongst themselves. The vampires learned to cope with their nature by controlling it, smothering it. The humans shook hands with it. Maybe it would be better, after all, if they still had the night to keep themselves busy.

The tallest building in the city was some nameless office complex. Kharl preferred not to contemplate the statement that made, enjoying the view instead. Why did the humans fight each other? Why did one human having slightly more than another irritate them so much? It was so very complicated. But more importantly, why did a bright, thoughtful kid like Rath have to get sucked into it...?

He considered this notion for a moment, mildly surprised. Since when had Rath become a bright, thoughtful kid? Well, he was bright, there was no denying _that_. But last he'd checked, Rath had officially been The Brat.

A lot of things associated with Rath had been surprising him lately. The 'bizarre and unfortunate' murders, for one thing. And the boy had such strange mood swings sometimes. It was often a challenge to guess what he'd do next, and Kharl wasn't used to being challenged by a mortal. And then there had been that... kiss...

Kharl shifted his weight uncomfortably. He shouldn't make such a big thing out of it. It'd just been a quick kiss on the cheek, like an older brother might do. Of course, the fact that he _was_ making a big thing out of it was cause to make a big thing out of it. Was it possible that he was becoming somehow attached to the boy?

He really shouldn't do that. That was another guideline of the new society - try to avoid becoming attached to mortals. It didn't matter if you loved them like a friend, like a family member, or in a romantic way; you just shouldn't. Because sooner or later you'd want to tell them what you were, and even though permissions could be obtained, the less people who knew, the better. And then there was the problem that mortals were, simply put, mortal.

Finding that the subject was fast becoming uncomfortable, Kharl stepped off the edge of the building. A moment later his wings caught an upward current and pulled him far over the city.

Of course, it was only a guideline...

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It was only a few hours till dawn. He ought to head home, he knew. He could have been there right now, enjoying a nice drink and a book or something. It would have been most relaxing. But instead he was here, and feeling mildly concerned.

For starters, there was the question of why he'd come. What kind of an idiot was he? If anyone in this house saw him, they would recognize him. There would be... talk. Did he really want to see Rath that much?

But then there was also... a smell. Even hovering outside the boy's window, he could smell fear, only a few hours old. He could smell someone who wasn't supposed to be there. But most importantly, the strongest scent was blood.

_Human blood. _The smell hypnotized him, drew him closer. Being a vampire, it took his eyes no time to adjust to the deeper darkness of the room on the other side of the glass when he peered in; however, it took a few moments for his drunken senses to register what he was seeing.

Rath was gone. There seemed to be signs of a struggle, though of course it was hard to tell for sure in Rath's messy room. Clumsy. Who would risk a struggle in a house crawling with servants, even if they would all be sleeping at this time of night? Also, they'd left the window partway open, which would explain why he could smell the blood so clearly.

Kharl sighed. He knew what had to be done. It was stupid, not to mention dangerous. He could be seen; heavens forbid, he could even be seen by Rath. Oh well. It had to be done. He took a deep breath, and followed an invisible trail of blood.

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Rath grunted as he was tossed to the floor, and looked around with wide eyes. He would normally be shouting his head off, except his captors had gagged him. The bastards had tied his arms and legs too. What they _hadn't_ done, though, and this worried him, was blindfold him. It followed that they didn't mind him knowing where he was... Which meant they probably weren't planning on him being in a position to be telling anyone about it later...

It took him a minute for his eyes to adjust to the light, or lack thereof. But when they did, he wished they hadn't. There had to be at least twenty people in the broken-down old building, keeping just inside the shadows. And what was worse was that someone in there, somewhere, was almost certainly... Then someone spoke.

"Ungag him." He knew the voice, and it made him feel rather ill.

Rough hands hauled him to his knees, brushed the back of his neck, and the cloth fell to the floor. He spat in disgust, but that was really a lot braver than he felt. Actually, he seemed to be trembling... Nadil stepped forward.

He was taller than he remembered him being, though that might have been because he was kneeling down. But it _had _been four years, after all... He'd grown his hair out longer in the back, too. Rath snorted. "You still dye your hair purple? Don't you know what they say about guys who wear purple?" he asked, with that certain kind of insanity that tends to possess those who know they're about to die.

Nadil smirked. "Ah, yes, I do... Still as impudent as ever, aren't you? And here I thought we'd cured you of this. We all had, at least until last week." He leaned down a little. "What got into you, Rath?"

Rath glared, but he couldn't quite get up the courage to spit in his face. He seriously thought he was about to be ill. "I didn't kill them, if that's what you mean."

For a moment he thought Nadil was going to hit him. But he just scoffed. "But of course you didn't... So who did? You see, we all really want to know."

'I have no idea, you fucking bastard! I really don't. And even if I did, it wouldn't matter, because even if I told you, you're still going to kill me, so why should I? And you're even more of a bastard than the last time I saw you, because at least then you didn't have me tied up!' That was what he wanted to say, but he wouldn't have made it to seventeen if he went around saying things like that all the time. Instead he just stared. Did they even have people hidden up in the rafters?

_I'm going to die..._

Then Nadil kissed him.

_I _am _dying..._

This was so incredibly nauseating. He wished the thugs who'd brought him here had beaten him just a little more, because then maybe he could have managed to faint. Maybe if he just didn't breathe? Nadil thrust his tongue down his throat, and for a minute he was so preoccupied with the fact that he tasted like smoke that he didn't even notice that the bastard had slipped a hand up his shirt. And his other hand... _Somebody..._

That was about when the screaming started. It was closely followed by gunshots; Nadil jumped; dropped him. "The hell?" he snapped.

"I don't know, but - gluk..." There was a suggestion of black, and then a body disappearing up into the rafters. There were two more lying on the floor already. There was a distant scream, and then a moment of silence.

"Shit!" Twenty-some guns were let loose at the ceiling. By about this time Rath had managed to drag himself behind a crate, and was sawing at his restraints with a bit of broken glass.

A handful of seconds of deafening noise was followed by a little more silence. Rath barely had time to wonder whether they'd gotten it, whatever the hell it was, and whether he could get his ankles free before they remembered him, when there was another scream. This was followed by several people dodging as two bodies fell rather a long way to the ground. Rath heard someone being sick somewhere.

At this point, he was completely focused on leaving. He was quite certain that it would be in his best interests to leave. Except that he couldn't, on account of everyone else leaving. Nadil was screaming at them for running away, but after a few moments his screams stopped having words to them, then stopped altogether. With their leader gone, the gang was like a herd of panicky sheep. A few more disappeared in an upward blur before they finally made it out, scrambling through any door or broken window they could get to.

Rath felt like he'd swallowed lead. Whatever it was, he was alone with it now.

Maybe if he just stayed here for a little while and was _extremely _quiet, it'd go away? Everything was certainly quiet now. A few scraps of black stuff drifted down from the dark roof, and it was only later that he realized they were feathers.

Then something else fell from the ceiling. For a moment he thought it was another body, but he was pretty sure that none of Nadil's comrades had had giant black wings... He ducked down before it even touched the ground.

And for a moment he just stayed there, not breathing. He should have left with the others. He would _definitely _take them over this thing; he would _pay _to take them over this thing... And then he heard it inhale deeply, as if it were trying to smell something...

_Oh great, so I really am going to die..._

He could hear it walking towards him, and the funny thing was that, now that he was untied, he couldn't do anything about it. When Nadil had been kissing him he would have punched him if he could, despite feeling sick - he knew he would have, because he'd been struggling with all his might - but somehow, now, he couldn't move. Why was that? he wondered, with that certain kind of calmness - and insanity - that tends to possess those who know they're about to die. Was it because he really couldn't do anything this time? What kind of an excuse was that? He glanced sideways. It was a pretty big shard of glass, when you thought about it...

He leapt up just as the footsteps reached the other side of the crate. His hand was already halfway to the creature's face before his tired brain kicked in. Well, it wasn't entirely his fault; the face looked a bit different than the way it usually looked. It was even paler than usual, for one thing, which he hadn't thought would have been possible. Also, there was a little bit of blood at the corner of its mouth, matching perfectly the hazy red sheen over its eyes... And there were fangs. And something of a crazed look... "Kharl?"

Kharl stared at him. Rath almost ran away right there, which would have led to him eventually convincing himself that he'd had a concussion or something, and Kharl would come to tutor him again in a few days and he wouldn't say anything because Rath didn't say anything, either, and magically, it wouldn't have happened. Eventually he'd probably even forget about it. But he stayed just a moment longer - maybe out of... concern... - and suddenly he wasn't staring at Kharl's fangs any more because they were pressed against his lips.

And again, he couldn't move. It was like being tied up again, only it wasn't because Kharl wasn't as rough somehow. He held the back of his head so gently that he almost could have forgotten about the three-inch claws touching his ear, and he kissed him gently too, almost like a cat lapping up... blood...?

And then he jerked away, so fast that Rath almost fell over the crate because of the sudden lack of support. The haze in his eyes was gone, he noted; they were back to their weird blue color. Also, they looked horrified. Rath had never put Kharl down as the type to get ruffled, but his hand was over his mouth in a perfect expression of profound shock, and he thought he heard him say something like 'Oh gods...' In a daze he raised a hand to his own mouth; he _was _bleeding. Maybe it had happened when Nadil dropped him?

Kharl turned abruptly to go; still in a kind of hypnotized way, Rath reached out and grabbed a handful of feathers. Kharl made a muffled squeaking sound as a few came off in his hand, and Rath stared at them. "Kharl? ...Fuck..."

Kharl hesitated. Things might have turned out a lot differently if he'd run, too. But instead he laughed weakly. "Such language..."

Rath stared at his hand. Those feathers were _huge_. "So... You're a vampire?"

Kharl sighed. "Yes."

"And you're not gonna kill me?"

"Of course not!"

Rath smiled. And fainted.

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For the second time in the last few days, Kharl lay the boy gently down on his bed. Damn, he was still bleeding... But it didn't look too bad, and anyway, he didn't trust himself to do anything about it. Anything _good, _anyway.

He sighed. He expected to spend the rest of the night contemplating the exact meaning of 'hell to pay.' One of the good things about being undead, the society wasn't going to be able to actually kill him. But he was quite certain that they were going to try.

As he turned to go, he felt another tug on his wing. It was gentler this time. "Kharl?"

"Hmm?"

"Why did you kiss me?"

Kharl didn't hesitate a moment. "It was the blood. I'm sorry."

Rath smiled again, and drifted peacefully off. Kharl left, and even closed the window behind him.

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**AN: **Moowaha. ...And that's pretty much all I have to say for myself, heh. Okay, so it was a pretty bad ending, but at least - (cackles like the crazed yaoi fangirl she is). Review, and there shall be more kissy stuff in the next chapter! Okay, so there probably would be anyway, but if you review, er, maybe I'll get it out faster...?


	5. Moods

**Disclaimer: **Dragon Knights may not be mine - but at least I have the one and only Evil Christmas Puff!

**AN: **First off, sorry about the wait - I meant to post this on _Friday_, but ff net has been giving me a never-ending supply of hell (coughevenmoresothanusualcough) -.-xx But anyhoo... Ah, the _relationship _chapter. I promise the next one will get back to the plot, but nevertheless I hope that this one will be plenty entertaining in its own way ;) Not much to babble about for this chapter, I guess, except that it pretty much marks the end of the first 'arc'. This series is informally ('informally' because I'm too lazy to come up with names for them, hee) split up in to three five-chapter arcs; the first one has obviously been about dealing with Nadil's gang and the beginning of Rath and Kharl's relationship, and the second one... well, _obviously _I'm not going to tell you that! XD

Chizz-muffinChik: Hee, I'd be more than happy to wreck my life for Rath, too. Though Kharl is actually my number one favorite character in DK, but oh well... Hope this wasn't too long of a wait? (sweats)

Schnickledooger: (grin) Glad you like... I think you may like the kiss scene in this chapter even better ;) And yes, to quash any potential rumors as soon as possible, Nadil is once-and-for-all-never-coming-back dead. Why? Because I didn't like him that much back when I wrote this, heh. If I were writing it now, I might have thought about it, because it would tie in with the canon so nicely, but again, there's that cliché thing... Not that what I actually do wind up doing is that much of a surprise, heh. The next arc will indeed have a central villain (or villainess! or villains! mwuha, I shall reveal nothing...), but the identity really is not gonna be that surprising...

Hotaru007: Hee, thank you :)

Ronin-N-Gang: Actually, I think your not getting an alert was part of some big site-wide problem. I hadn't gotten any alerts, about stories or reviews or forums or anything, for a week or so myself; they just started coming in again a couple days ago... some people on a forum I read were complaining about it too... Aw, but squeeing in public is so much fun! Instead of just one lousy terminal, you could have a whole _row_ of computers all to yourself! XD Hmm... heh... (picturing Rath as a blood donor plus sex toy)... Gah XD Actually, I wrote a story rather like that, I'm so bad, except it's for Yu-gi-oh (and on my other account, meh). But as for... (cackle) I shall reveal nothing!

Yoko Jaganshi: Hmm, have we seen the last of Kharl murdering people yet...? (headdesk) I can't remember! That is _so_ sad, I know... Though I can say for sure that this _isn't_ the last we'll see of Kharl breaking the rules for Rath's sake ;) And as for what the vampire society is going to do to him... well, you'll find out about that next chapter, hee. (sounds like an episode preview)

Vaguely Downwards: I love you. Do I say that too often? You might get the wrong idea... it's not in a stalker-ish or even remotely nasty way, I assure you... but I can't help it; I love you. XD You are not a horrible person at all, because anyone who dwells in a bucket of rats is fine by my book. And what do you need sunlight for, you silly girl? Ha, I shall send the Evil Chicken Army (for more information, see my bio) to smite the Evil Dragon-Knights-less Comic Store, in order to uphold its title as the evillest (most evil?), er, evil thing, ever! And when you figure that all out (just how many 'e's are in those last few words?), let me know... Hee, I LOVE that you love the whole vampire society thing, because yes, that was all my creation (well, so DK does have plenty of characters whom I suspect of role playing as vampires in their free time, but no actual vampires). Actually, the a-more-macabre/gothic-way-plus-pigs'-blood thing does make sense; I originally started wanting to write a weird vampire fic because of Terry Pratchett, but I knew that they would wind up being a bit darker because I just simply can't do funny as well as him... not that most people can, present company excluded... I'm glad I can at least do adorable, though ;) Gah, though, you're right about the stylistic thingy; once I could actually be bothered to look at the sentence critically, I wasn't even quite sure what it was doing there at all O.o Heh... And don't worry, long reviews completely rock my socks (somehow, even though I'm not wearing socks just now...).

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**Chapter Five:** Moods

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_When I think about Nadil kissing me, I literally feel like I'm going to be sick. But Kharl... Kharl wasn't so bad..._

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It was four whole days before Kharl's next tutoring session was scheduled. This gave Rath a lot of time to think.

When he woke up Friday morning, he was surrounded by cooing, worried servants, who brought him food and checked for broken bones and insisted on bringing up the family doctor. He had to make up a story real quick, ending quite firmly with how he'd managed to drag himself home before collapsing. But there was no doubt about it; he remembered everything.

Not because he wanted to, that was for sure. School would be hell on Monday. But he barely thought about that; _that _was looking very seriously insignificant right now.

His tutor was a vampire.

Last night, he'd watched him get fired at with twenty guns and live. He'd watched him kill ten or fifteen people - later he would learn that he'd tracked the other ones down that night and killed them too, because if there was one thing a vampire knew, it was how kill people _properly_. He'd watched him fly. And then he'd been kissed by him.

He could even remember what he'd said afterwards, that it had just been about the blood. That made him feel strongly... well, strange. He _refused _to think disappointed, dammit. Because if he actually came out and thought that, he'd have to... to... well, _do_ something. Possibly involving ripping out his hair, or jumping off a building.

He even tried the concussion theory. However, he was kind of dubious about this from the start seeing as how he could _remember _thinking it up during the time he was _supposed _to be having it. It didn't help that the newspapers were now referring to Fedelta's, Saabel's, and their gang's deaths collectively as the 'vampire murders.' It also didn't help that he still had a couple really _huge _black feathers...

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The problem was, it snowed on Tuesday. It wasn't supposed to; winter was supposed to be pretty much over for the year. But they did always have crazy weather around here, after all...

Yes, the society _had _done their very best to make his afterlife miserable. Twenty more mortals dead! _Twenty! _That was more than had been killed by vampires in the last two hundred years, apparently. When he couldn't help but ask about the last two hundred and ten, they weren't very happy. Was he out of his mind? they had wanted to know. They'd all deserved to die, he'd said. Was he sure? they'd asked. Had he known them all personally? Had he even known their names? Well, that had shut _him _up. And on top of it all, they'd said, he'd _shown _himself to a _mortal _and let it _live._ Without permission! He'd _kissed _it! When he'd said, So what, it hadn't minded too much, all things considered, well, at least it hadn't tried to shoot at me or anything, though that might have been because it'd figured out that that didn't do too much by now, um... Well, when he'd said _that, _some of the calmer Council members of the group had had to restrain some of the rather less calm ones.

All in all, it had been a very stressful weekend. And now he couldn't think of what to say.

He was standing outside Rath's door, but he couldn't quite bring himself to knock. He'd considered bringing more food, but he decided that that probably wouldn't help much at this point. _What if he tells me to go away? _he wondered. _What will I do? What if he doesn't even remember? ...Or, what if he does remember, and is pretending not to because he really, really doesn't want to? Godsdammit..._ Finally he got up his courage, and knocked.

There was a moment of silence, just a heartbeat really, and then Rath said, "Come in."

He was sitting on the windowsill, staring out. He didn't look up when Kharl came in, quietly closing the door behind him. After a moment Kharl cleared his throat and said, "Um-"

"Kharl, are you _really _a vampire?"

He hesitated. Then he said, "Yes."

Rath finally looked at him and discovered, despite having had the entire weekend to think it over, that he hadn't _really _figured out what he was going to ask first. _If you've been a vampire all this time, why haven't you killed me? Why did you kill all those people? You killed Saabel and Fedelta, too, didn't you? Why are you protecting me? WHY did you kiss me? _So he settle for a miserable smile that he thought summed up both their situations pretty well, and said, "It's snowing, Kharl."

"Um..." Kharl sweatdropped. "Yes, so I've noticed," he said diplomatically. _He's cracked... but that's better than him yelling at me to get out, right?_

Rath laughed at his expression. "Oh, I... Do you know why Nadil wanted to kill me? Why everyone thinks I killed Saabel and Fedelta?"

"Um..." He looked at the floor. Why must he always spring things on him like this? "Yes."

"Oh, so you _did _kill them, then." At Kharl's shocked look, he shrugged. "The first two 'vampire murders,' you know. It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out." He paused, and looked out the window again. "I hate snow."

"Why?"

Rath turned back, and in that way he had, his mood had completely changed. "Sit down," he commanded. "I want you to tell me everything. _Everything. _Are there more vampires? If there are, why hasn't anyone found out? I think it's the least you owe me, after all the rumors going around school that I'm some kind of deranged mass-murderer."

Kharl stared at him for a moment. And then he sat down. And he told him everything.

He told him all about the society, and all its rules. He told him about how much trouble he'd been getting into lately; about how he was becoming a bit of an outcast too. He told him about the society's history, about how he'd been one of the people who'd first started it, around the Age of Enlightenment in Europe. He told him about Changing, how it hurt every time when all the blood in your body just suddenly disappeared, and you grew fangs and wings, and all you wanted to do was kill someone, except you knew that you couldn't, no matter what, because then you'd want to do it again and again and again like he wanted to every night right now... And when he finished, Rath was very quiet.

"I'm sorry," he finally said. It was about the only thing he could think of just then, except maybe 'thank you,' but Kharl got that much just from looking at his eyes.

Kharl leaned back. "And now," he said, with just a hint of smugness, "it seems to be your turn. It think it's the, ah, least you owe me. Considering all the rumors and whatnot."

Rath flushed, and looked out the window. It seemed to be snowing even harder, he noted... "Did those two tell you their names before you killed them?" he asked.

"Wha...? Gil and Bierrez, you mean?"

Rath nodded. "Yeah, them... They were just kids, you know. We were all just freshmen. They didn't do anything wrong. They were just there."

"Where?" Kharl said quietly. It was a lot different, wasn't it, killing someone you knew...

Damn, he was starting to feel a little sick already. He could see their faces... No. Stupid. If he thought about that, he'd never get through this, and he owed it to him, after all, to get through it. "They used to beat me up a lot," he said, watching the snow. "Because I was rich. I'd fight back, but only enough to keep from getting hurt, you know? Usually it was Saabel and Fedelta, and sometimes Bierrez. But one time it was all three of them _and _Gil, and they dragging me outside because Nadil wanted to see me... And..." He smiled helplessly. "Please tell me you know what he did? I mean, it was nothing really bad, just like the... other night... but, it was the first time anything like that had ever..." He grimaced. "So I just kind of lost it. I tried to kill him. Gil and Bierrez tried to get me to stop, so I killed them instead. Saabel and Fedelta were smart; they ran. Later they asked me to join their gang, though." He smiled in an utterly unhappy way. "It was snowing."

"I..." There was really _nothing _to say to this. Kharl cursed his inability to comfort people. Not knowing what else to do, he leaned over and hugged him.

For a few moments, neither of them thought too much. Then Rath tensed, just slightly, and Kharl jumped away like he'd been burned. "I'm... sorry..."

Rath frowned. Damn, and just when they'd gotten one thing out of the way... "I think there's something you need to clear up for me," he said quietly. "Did you really just kiss me because you were blood-crazy or whatever?"

"Yes!" Kharl snapped.

"Don't lie to me; you're not _that _dumb," Rath said calmly.

Kharl raised an eyebrow at this, but seemed to deflate somewhat. "Well, it was either that or kill you at that precise moment, you know. ...Yes. No. ...At first."

Kharl looked like he was about to die. Rath looked... expressionless. Kharl stared at him for a moment, and stood hurriedly. "I guess I'll go then," he said cheerfully. "I'll - I'll tell your parents that some other job came up, how about that?" What a peculiar sinking feeling...

"Kharl, you _are _dumb," Rath said.

"Pardon?" _All I want to do is hide somewhere and have a good sulk, and you have the nerve to call me dumb?-! You... You brat!_

"You really _are _dumb," he repeated, sounding mildly amazed. Then he smiled, and there was actually a hint of genuine amusement in it. "You know, I've always know that I'm gay. Hanging out with Rune can do that to you." He laughed. "Rune likes Thatz, though, I think. Which is a real shame, because Thatz likes Kitchel. Funny how that works, huh? Really, Nadil is the only guy who's ever taken an interest in me, and you know what? Just knowing that makes me want to die. But you're..." In the way of someone whose intelligent brain has just figured out where their stupid mouth has taken it, and where it is going to take it next, he went bright red and look away. "You're my friend. So it's different."

Suddenly - were Rath's mood swings contagious? - Kharl felt amused. "Do you even know what you're saying?"

"Yes!" His eyes added, 'Unfortunately.'

"Then you wouldn't mind if I kissed you again?"

Rath flushed again. "No."

Kharl took one look at his face, and laugh. Rath glared. "Well, I'm afraid you're just going to have to be patient. I mean, for starters, have you actually thought about the age difference? And you'd better tell me you haven't just started thinking about this since I kissed you, or I'm afraid I'll have to lower my opinion of you a great deal. And don't lie, because you're not anywhere near that dumb."

Nor was he dumb enough not to know when he was being mocked. "Of course not!" he snapped.

Kharl stood, and kissed him on the forehead. "Well, that's all right then." Rath stared. "And now, I think I was supposed to be tutoring you..."

_Wow, is there _ever _going to be hell to pay, _Kharl thought, and felt oddly giddy about it.

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Rune and Thatz were amazed. Rath _was _known for being pretty good at ignoring people who tried to get under his skin, but surely everyone had their limits, and that week he was the most popular topic in school. But on Wednesday, while the other students whispered behind their hands not very secretively, he just stared out the window. The snow had turned to rain over night, transforming the ground into slush. Rath's two friends later upheld that he went through the entire day in a daze.

He wasn't even sure if yesterday had happened. All that stuff about being a vampire and this so-called 'society' thing - did Kharl seriously expect him to believe it? True, there was overwhelming evidence in his favor - the newspapers' favorite new phrase, for instance, or the giant black feathers buried in his sock drawer - and yet common sense rebelled.

That wasn't the main thing on his mind, though. Oh, definitely not.

What exactly did he think he'd gotten himself into, anyway? It had been scary enough when he'd just been in love with an older man. Now all of the sudden he turned out to be a vampire? Perhaps he should have spent a little more time considering that point. That was enough to make anyone feel at least a little insecure.

It certainly kept things interesting, though, he had to admit...

But the worst part, the _worst _part, was that he wasn't even sure how Kharl felt about him. It was almost like he was toying with him, which certainly wasn't something he would have expected from him. He'd always seemed fairly mild-mannered, in a weird and vaguely creepy way.

Yesterday he'd simply kissed him on the forehead, like a little child, and insisted that he do his homework. He hadn't even looked at him while he was doing it, either; he'd just stared out the window with a vague sort of smile on his face. He knew he would have been uncomfortable if Kharl had stared at him instead, but at the same time he'd wished that he would at least look his way. And then, a little bit before sunset, he'd just left.

He couldn't help but wonder if Kharl was really interested in him at all. He was just going to have to _do_ something about this...

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When Kharl came in that afternoon, he beamed. "Already studying?"

"Mm-hm."

"Your parents would be proud."

"I'll bet."

He set a box down on the desk. "I brought cookies."

"Thanks."

Kharl smiled sweetly, and proceeded to sit down on the window sill with a book.

Rath stared for a moment, and frowned. Well, the - the jerk. He'd failed test one with flying colors, that was for sure. He hadn't acted this coolly towards him since the first day they'd met; he was like some kind of bloody _teacher _or something... Well, he'd just have to use his secret weapon - bluntness.

"Kharl?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you _really _interested?"

"In what?"

"_Me._" His expression added a very distinct _idiot _to this.

Kharl looked up from his book, blinking innocently. "What? Why, of course I am. Whatever gave you the idea that I wasn't?" And he looked at him with such utterly earnest concern that Rath wasn't sure how he was supposed to find something to complain about.

Besides the fact that it all sounded just a bit off, anyway. Besides the fact that it all sounded just a _bit _like something out of a cheesy, C-rated romance novel. Besides the fact that when he took a moment to answer, Kharl smiled and went back to his book.

Rath was beginning to learn that Kharl was at his least trustworthy when he was smiling.

And then Rath was standing right next to him. "Well, you sure have a funny way of showing it, don't you think?"

Kharl looked up at him, blinking again. "Whatever do you mean?"

Rath glared, and fumbled for some words. _Stop saying whatever; don't you know how fake that sounds? _he wanted to say, but he controlled himself. "I mean you don't just seem disinterested; you seem like you don't even _like _me anymore. Why?"

Kharl arched an eyebrow. "Well, I certainly don't want to rush you. Do you mean you want me to be more physical?"

Rath hesitated, taking a moment to remember that he wasn't the only one well schooled in bluntness. "Yes." Well, it was close enough. That was part of it, at least.

Kharl smiled. "Are you sure?"

Inwardly, Rath froze over and felt rather too hot at the same time. "Yes!" he snapped outwardly.

Kharl continued to smile pleasantly - the worst kind - right up until he kissed him.

And once again, this kiss was... different. It was sort of slow and sensual in a way that made him go weak in the knees. It also made him realize that he had absolutely no idea what he was doing when it came to kissing people. All he could do was pretty much sit back and watch while Kharl, with perfect elegance, pulled him burningly close and slipped his tongue into his mouth and explored and wove his fingers through his hair and under his shirt -

He pulled away, panting and feeling like a small, soon-to-be-deceased creature in the headlights. He was too busy doing this to notice that Kharl wore an odd sort of half-smirk.

And eventually he got back to his homework and Kharl got back to his book, and all in all Rath had decided... that something was seriously wrong here, and he was damned if he knew what it was...

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**AN: **(happy sigh) Aw, they're so _silly_. So, does everybody totally get exactly what Kharl's problem is, because he's just being so obvious about it? Even I had a hard time figuring it out, heh. Shiiiiiiiiiny reviews, spaaaaaarkly reviews...


	6. Justice

**Disclaimer: **Hah! Not only do I claim rights to the Evil Christmas Puff - but also to vampire!Kharl! Heh, I wonder if I could actually get away with that...

**AN: **(shiver) Just remembering is traumatizing. You have no idea how long it took me to write this chapter. First I was stuck, really badly, and stopped writing for like a year... and then BulmaWannabe came along and gave me a really wonderful idea, but it meant I had to change this entire arc of the story... so I was stuck again... (nervous grin) But in any case, thank you, BulmaWannabe:) And as for the rest of you, yes, blame her, I wasn't going to be _nearly_ so evil... cackle...

Chizz-muffinChik: Hee, I'm glad you like that their relationship is finally moving along. Though I'm afraid it won't get much further for a while... not until... (coughchaptertwelveIsaid_nothing_cough)... And believe you me, Kharl's problem was not in any way obvious in the last chapter. As evidenced by how nobody was able to guess right ;) I think I might not have even exactly had it figured out when I wrote that part, geez... Things should become clear in this chapter, or at least in the next one.

Hotaru007: XD No, he's not waiting for permission, nor is he BDSM... (snigger) well, his general attitude may be rather masochistic... I'm thinking this chapter should pretty much clear it up. If not this one, then the next one for sure. I'm glad you're enjoying :)

Ronin-N-Gang: (gasp) Y'know, Kharl and Rath are my top two... but I don't know if I've ever actually thought about who my third favorite character is -.-;; It could by 'Fakcy. I really like the other Knights as well, though... "Love is love no matter what gender, race, religion or, in this case, species." And I _love_ people like you... though, heh, even though most normal, healthy people seem to think this way, it can still be pretty scary when you're in a situation like that... (sigh) Sadly, I don't foresee Rath and Kharl's relationship taking a more physical turn in the manga, which of course is why I had to write this fic... if only I could draw, I could make some killer doujinshi ;) Hee hee, I'm afraid to say that none of your guesses were on the mark, but I don't hold it against you at all, especially considering that no one else got it right either ;) Though _one_ of the things you said will happen eventually... (sweats)... but you didn't hear that from me! Things should become clearer this chapter :)

Aobikari: Thanks for the support, and for reviewing both chapters!

Turtle Kid: (grin) You haven't made an idiot of yourself at all; actually, I think you were probably closest to the truth, when you thought that maybe he was worried about Rath being mortal. I wouldn't say that's exactly the main thing on his mind, but it's part of it. Things should become clear in this chapter or the next. Welcome to the madness, by the way ;)

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**Chapter Six:** Justice

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It had been just before sunset when he'd told him, and at the time he had just been happy that the older man was talking to him at all. Although, now...

_Wednesday evening, five-thirty. Rath was hunched over his textbooks in an attitude of deep studiousness, but really he was staring at the clock out of the corner of his eye. Kharl always left at five-thirty, and Rath used to think it was so he could get safely home before dark. It was something like that, at any rate. The clock showed five-thirty-five before Kharl stood, though, and the uncharacteristic hesitation was not lost on the young boy._

_With an odd, light feeling in his stomach, Rath wondered if he would kiss him good-bye. He wondered if he _wanted_ him to kiss him good-bye, especially considering the deafening and still-unbroken silence the last kiss had led to._

_Kharl, being Kharl, had not seemed to have considered the idea one way or the other._

"_Rath..." He set about gathering his things as an excuse not to look at his so-called pupil, but Rath still caught the oddly pensive expression that crossed his face. He cleared his throat, and started again. "Rath. Have you ever wondered how a vampire dies?"_

_After a moment, Rath shook his head. 'Random much?' Kharl continued, looking almost as if he was talking more to himself. "We're not nearly as easy to kill as the legends claim, you know. We're harmless during the day, true, but it won't **kill**_ _us. Eating garlic when we're Changed would be like you eating plastic, but it's no worse than anything else. And as for the cross..." He chuckled softly. "We've been around since before such a thing existed, after all. So I guess it's rather anti-climatic that the legends got one thing right - that whole business of the stake through the heart." He gave Rath a meaningful look that the boy was almost too startled to catch. "Vampires heal very quickly, you know, since blood is such a precious - irreplaceable, you might say - commodity to us. If you shoot a vampire through the heart with a gun, the wound will heal before it has time to affect him. But flesh can't heal around a stake, and so the blood will stop circulating. If the stake is ever removed, then we will reawaken, just as the legends say, but in the meantime..."_

_And then, while Rath was still gaping stupidly, Kharl smiled suddenly and brilliantly. "But forgive me for boring you with such trivialities. I really should be heading home..."_

"_Why did you tell me?" Rath demanded. "Why would you want anyone to know...?"_

_Kharl seemed not to hear him. He merely leaned forward, with a wisp of a smile still on his lips, and kissed the boy on the cheek - and Rath forgot everything else in the face of the desire to turn his head, just a little bit... But then he was gone, and out the door, leaving nothing behind but a faint smell like a crisp winter night._

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Changing is one of the most painful things a vampire can experience, and it happens every night. Wings the color of the most highly prized ebony ripping through the bones and sinew and skin of your back is the least of one's concerns; much worse is the sensation of all the blood in one's body draining out into nothingness and leaving one with a most terrible craving... Kharl lay on his couch for some time afterward, reaching a shaky hand out every once in a while for a glass that _might _have held wine, and considered the unsettling possibilities of the night.

Just how many mortals had he killed lately? He wasn't quite sure. Twenty-something... Kharl sighed softly to himself. Generally accepted leader or no, he was amazed that the Council hadn't arrested him when they'd had the chance, at the last meeting. But even after spinning them up even more than he'd meant to, it appeared that they were true bureaucrats to the core - in other words, they'd had to take their time and discuss _everything_, even when there wasn't really a lot to discuss, as much as Kharl hated to admit it. Kharl took another draught of the red liquid in an absent-minded way. And of course he would never admit it when he inevitably went on trial...

Then, as if summoned, just as Kharl was beginning to feel recovered enough to seriously contemplate what to do with what was possibly one of his last nights as a free man for a while, he was quiet thoroughly scared out of his wits by a business-like rap on his door. He went to it hurriedly, peered through the peephole, and sighed again... and then put on another of his cheery smiles, and opened the door wide.

"Why, Tetheus!" he exclaimed. "What on earth could you want, this early in the evening? And don't you know it's dangerous to come to people's front doors, _dear _friend? Well, you'd better come in - have something to drink, and -"

Tetheus glared flatly at him. "I don't have time for that, and neither do you. I'm here as a Council member only..." Kharl thought he saw Tetheus's eyes flicker for just a moment, which was about as close as he normally ever came to expressing discomfort. "...and I have strict orders to take you into custody to await an audience before your peers."

Kharl rolled his eyes. "That's just stuffy language for taking me to court, you know," he scolded. "It sounds rather silly coming from you, doesn't it?"

Tetheus's scowl was beginning to develop something of an edge. "I hope you adopt a more restrained attitude when you appear before the Council," he nearly snapped. "I doubt the majority is going to be very sympathetic as it is."

From inside the cavernous entrance of the one house on the block that already had all its lights off at six-thirty, Kharl's eyes glinted. "Oh, I'm sure some won't be," he said softly. "Everyone agrees that I am the unofficial leader of our society, and in matters before the Council, my word is final. If I were gone..." He eyed Tetheus appraisingly. "But what about you, eh? Are you... 'sympathetic'?"

"I merely want to see justice served," he said emotionlessly... but he bowed his head slightly as he spoke. Kharl smiled again.

"So... you're really going to arrest me, even so?" he asked, tugging at the edge of the other man's collar mock-fretfully. "What if I didn't cooperate? Old friend?"

"_Don't_ start," Tetheus said, gritting his teeth and grounding out the syllables so threateningly that Kharl just had to snicker.

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It had been just before sunset when he'd told him, and at the time he had just been happy that the older man was talking to him at all. But _now_...

All through school on Thursday, Rath once again failed to notice the whispering and pointing. He was too full of a renewed determination to figure out what Kharl's problem was, once and for all. 'I will _not_ get sidetracked, or embarrassed, or...' By the time he was in the limo, he was planning out the first thing he'd say, and what Kharl would probably say back - even though there was no way he could possibly predict that really - and what he would say then...

Once he got home, Rath waited practically on the edge of his seat, totally unable to concentrate on any homework. He couldn't understand why he felt so gratingly _anxious_ to talk to him, and he felt a little absurd, but then... then the time that he normally arrived finally came... and went...

And when he went to bed that night, a million years later, he tried not to worry about it. He was sure that his utter inability to sleep was completely unrelated.

And when he went to school on Friday, he tried to keep his mind off it. Specifically, he tried not to wonder why Kharl still hadn't bothered to call and explain himself.

And when he called the cell phone number that was the only means of contact Kharl had given his family, and didn't get an answer, he had had to take a few deep breaths but he'd managed to disregard it. He probably just had his phone turned off.

And when Rune and Thatz asked him what was wrong on Monday, he didn't tell them about it. He was almost _certainly _getting worked up over nothing.

But when the sun set on Tuesday and his parents started to 'talk', he began to wonder...

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**AN: **Oh no, it's short again! And I was doing so well, too... (nervous grin) But I promise the next one will be much more action-packed :) I mean, when you think about it, how could it not be? Eh, and yeah, that could be taken a couple different ways... But not like _that_, get yer mind outta da gutter! Unfortunately. Ah well... Also, guess who _finally _gets a major part! And you thought he was just going to stay a background character... No, really, guess! Cackle.


	7. Deliberation

**AN: **Isn't "de-" such an interesting prefix? Yes, I really _do _have way too much fun... Was written under the influence of a lethal vodka of _The Pit and the Pendulum_ and British comedy, you were warned. At least it's a longer chapter, at last! By the by, I know this is horrible writing but I don't know when I'll ever get to fitting this in, so an 'Ancient' is a vampire that was born that way, rather than one who was born human and bitten.

blackcat686: Thanks, I'm glad you like it :)

Turtle Kid: I'm glad that you're glad ;) And, wrong on all counts, evil!cackle. But don't worry, you'll find out by the end of this chapter...

Ronin-N-Gang: (blushie) Yes, sorry about that. I think this one is at least a little longer... But I'm glad you liked it anyway, and I hope you like this one even more ;)

Chizz-muffinChik: (grin) So glad you liked that Tetheus made an appearance, especially since... (cough-he's-gonna-be-a-central-character-in-the-sequel-cough) Argh, it's too _soon_ to be mentioning that, I haven't even started writing it yet, what am I thinking...? (sweats) But in any case, the reason that Kharl was telling Rath about how vampires are killed... heh, basically it was because he had it on his mind, and that's all I'm saying...

Vaguely Downwards: Okay, you can be an evil deviant if you want to (I, for instance, would consider this to be entirely complimentary), but you're not horrible, promise ;) Even without having go-exchange in my life, I can understand this whole lack of free time thing... But this isn't to say that I'm not excited about the concept of more regular comments from you, (bounces up and down like she just ate a cheesecake) Hee, 'crazyhead' is the title I regularly go by, didn't you know? (Because, for my part, I'm constantly trying to convince everyone, my parents in particular, that I'm actually only twelve). XD Also, I am extremely glad that my vampires haven't turned out pale or at all seeming like they might be inclined to wear tulle, and I only hope they still seem that way after the end of this chapter... Additionally glad that you like the description of the whole Changing process, _and _you are probably right about that typo, blushie. Though, hee, the one you should be praising for the name 'Tetheus' is Mineko Ohkami-sensei, not me; he's not an original character. In fact, none of the named characters in this fic are. In other words, yes, Dragon Knights has a loooooooot of characters...

P.S.: Just for you, I confirmed it; that line should be credited to the almighty Koneko Cain/Koneko Shido (she used to go by Koneko Cain before she was booted, those coughbastardscough, if I remember right). It was something I nicked from her bio on her website, the link to which is in _my_ bio on _this_ site, if you can find it in all that mess...

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**Chapter Seven:** Deliberation

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A week passed before his trial. Kharl had nothing much to do but think in this time, and the more he thought, the more certain he became that they had given him so much time for just this purpose, to torment him.

It didn't help that his surroundings were abysmally boring. He became certain that he hadn't had such a boring week in _millennia_. He was only able to keep day and night straight by the cycle of his Changes. Plain white walls faced him wherever he looked - along with a plain white ceiling and floor - and the bed had white sheets. It was admittedly a step above a torch-lit, stone-walled, dripping dungeon, but he _was _a prominent political figure. They could have at least given him a TV, he thought grumpily in between more serious musings.

And these musings were the source of his real trouble, of course. Simply put, the harder he looked at his case, the more hopeless it appeared. He couldn't stop himself from wondering what his sentence might be. If he was _lucky_, it would probably be quite a lot more time in a place like this, and just the thought was enough to drive him half-crazy. He severely doubted that he would be particularly _un_lucky, or he wouldn't have allowed himself to be brought here, but you never could be certain...

All this was very horrible, of course, but the one thought that tortured him the most was the one that nagged at the back of his mind even when he was trying to pretend to be thinking about other things. He had known that this was probably going to happen, after all, and that few sentences could be worse than becoming a fugitive and having the entire vampire world hunting him. So he'd been trying to get the boy as irritated with him as possible, but it had been too hard, and he hadn't had as much time as he'd been expecting...

But on the day of his trial, as he paced he cell impatiently, Kharl tried to look on the bright side. If they let him go free, then there would be no harm done. And if not, then he would probably be locked up until long after the boy grew old and died, and therefore it would be none of his concern. For some reason this made him feel very... very...

As he was just about to discard that entire train of thought before it became even _more_ uncomfortable, his door was opened without warning. Suddenly he found himself being hustled along, with a guard at either elbow, through corridors that seemed shadowy even to the eyes of a fully awakened vampire...

"You could have at least knocked," Kharl said crossly. One of his escorts grunted.

Eventually the hallway opened, cave-like, into a gargantuan chamber lit only by a scant number of distant candles, and Kharl narrowly resisted rolling his eyes. They had caught him in a bad mood, he realized vaguely, but surely anyone would have to admit that the effect was rather over-done. A row of seats somewhere far above him held the shadowy figures of the Council - it would've been rather more imposing if he hadn't known who they all were - along with the aforementioned candles, which under-lit the Members' faces just a little too little to make them identifiable. There were no seats down below so he was forced to stand, and when his guards faded into the shadows, Kharl was left all alone in the formless void save for that distant island of lights.

After a little bit he tried yawning loudly. He was just beginning to think it hadn't worked, when someone finally said, "Lord Kharl of the Ancients... As you probably know, you have been called here before a council of your peers to determine just retribution for your act of destroying twenty-two mortals in violation of the highest codes of our society. It appears to the Council that you preformed these condemnable acts with little or no warrant, and after deliberation we have concluded that, unless you can convince us otherwise, steps will have to be taken."

Kharl shook his head in distaste. "There's no need to be so formal, Lord Shydeman," he said, and was please by the brief buzz of startled whispers from above. "I don't see why you're all so amazed; I've know you all for ages upon ages, as you have known me. Do you really think I'd violate the codes without a reason?"

"That's what we're here to determine, isn't it?" a silky female voice countered.

Kharl sighed dramatically, feigning hurt. "If you insist, Lady Shyrendora..." He smiled charmingly. "Of course I understand that my actions were transgressions of the highest degree; nevertheless, I'm sure that if you just examine the case, you'll find that it's pretty clear-cut. The boys I 'destroyed' were murderers themselves, and-"

"Prove it," the first voice snapped.

Kharl arched an eyebrow. "As I stated previously, these individuals lived as a crude group of rogues existing outside their own society; they lived like animals-"

"That's no proof," Shyrendora sneered.

"Let him speak," a voice Kharl recognized as Tetheus's said, soft yet commanding, but he was drowned out by the rising muttering of the other Council Members.

"I demand the names of the humans they killed!"

"You can't even tell us your _victims'_ names!"

"I can't," Kharl admitted softly. "But why don't you tell me how you know they _didn't _kill anyone?"

"The burden of proof doesn't rest with us," Shyrendora snapped.

Kharl waved his hand dismissively. "Then it shouldn't rest with me, either. I _can_ tell you that I killed them to rescue a boy they were tormenting, and whom I have definite reason to believe they planned to rape and murder; isn't that reason enough?"

"One life doesn't equal twenty-two," Shydeman said coldly.

He'd _known_ it was a bad day for this from the outset. It wasn't like there was anything he could've done about it, but still... they really shouldn't have kept him locked up so long... "Who are you to decide that?" he shouted, with a suddenness that caused more surprised muttering. "Why would you rather have twenty-two criminals over one pure person?"

"You never even convinced us that those twenty-two were all criminals," Shydeman said in disgusted tones. "And to what pure person do you refer? Your little pet is a murderer too!"

Kharl glared, and tried to force down the feeling of shame rising out of the pit of his stomach. "He's not my 'pet'," he hissed. "And he only killed to save himself; he never wanted to, and he regrets it now - it haunts him -"

Shyrerndora laughed raucously. "Oh, please. It's already clear to us how _emotionally involved _you are, and yet you are willing to incriminate yourself further? How unbecoming, especially of an Ancient... How about some questions you _can_ answer - why are you protecting this boy? How could you let him live after revealing your true nature to him? Why did you _kiss him_?"

Kharl was a bit surprised when the little spark inside him went out just like _that_. He bowed his head to the rising laughter. "Is kissing a crime in our society now?" he murmured. "It's not as if he'll tell anyone..." _'Emotionally involved'? Huh... I hadn't realized I was... that pathetic..._

"You can't know that he won't!" Shydeman bellowed. "If you have nothing further to say, I propose to declare this trail closed." Up in the gloom, he smirked. "I further recommend that Lord Kharl of the Ancients be given a sentence that reflects his love of mortal society, and be put to death!"

"I object!" Tetheus shouted. "I don't believe we've heard conclusive evidence either way! And what is the purpose of this council without a vote?"

Shyrendora scoffed. "Listen to them, brother," she commanded, and it was true that the rising, heated babble sounded overwhelmingly positive. "There's your vote. We've heard enough!"

In the row of seats above, one shadowy figure stood, wings spread wide in agitation. "Lord Kharl, do you have anything further to testify?"

Kharl simply stared up at the man with wide eyes. He felt overwhelmed, all of a sudden; his world was shifting most uncooperatively under his feet... His vision seemed to be blurring in shock at it all; nevertheless, he could've sworn he saw Tetheus' hand fly up to cover his face as rough hands grabbed his arms again... Shydeman and Shyredora were certainly not his closest friends, but it had been so long - he had been sure that they could not be his enemies, either... It wasn't supposed to go like this... At the door back into the halls, his clarity returned just long enough for him to realize where he was being taken, and he struggled, but a pair of razor-sharp fangs sank into his neck straight away. He shrieked in rage, struggling all the more, but a vampire can drain a body of every drop of blood in an amazingly short time, after all. It was really only a matter of seconds before his world began to fade away...

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To anyone watching, Rune would've looked like a perfectly ordinary teenage boy totally at peace with the world. His room was a bit cleaner than that of an ordinary young boy, true, but surely that wasn't a fault. He lay in bed on top of the covers with headphones on, eyes closed and head bobbing slightly to the music.

No one would have guessed that he was thinking about how his best friend had broken down in his arms.

It had been after school that it'd happened; Rath had said that he wanted help studying for an Art class test that was coming up, but apparently what he really wanted was a shoulder to cry on. The most frustrating part, Rune reflected, was that he hadn't really told him a thing.

_Of course, Rune had naturally been fooled at first, and had diligently gone through all the various elements and principles asking if this or that made sense. Rath's answers, he soon found, were disjointed and distant, and the blond boy was soon prompted to ask primly if Rath wanted his help or not. And Rath had blinked at him in amazement, as if he'd forgotten where he was._

_Rune remembered sighing irritably at that point. "Okay, what's wrong?"_

"_...Wrong?"_

_He'd rolled his eyes at that. "Come on, Rath, I know you're upset about something. You've been upset about something for days. Give it up."_

_After a moment or two, the other boy had laughed nervously. "Oh, well... It's no big deal. Just... You know that tutor I have? You met him once, right? Well, I really hated him at first, but I guess he... kind of grew on me. He's a pretty good guy, actually. I guess you could say we're... friends, of course we're friends." It occurred to Rune that Rath seemed to have forgotten he had an audience again already; he was undeniably talking to his hands in his lap. "It's just, now that I've finally started to get used to him, he's stopped coming around. He hasn't even called my parents to say why or anything, but he was acting really funny the last time I saw him." Rath looked up then, and Rune was shocked speechless by the vulnerability on his face - he looked like someone else, and about ten yeas younger than he actually was. "He was talking about dying, Rune; why would he talk to me about dying?"_

_And of course there was nothing Rune could possibly have said to that, so instead he got to see Rath cry for the first time ever, great messy sobs muffled in his chest..._

Rune sighed to himself. After a moment he opened his eyes, and pulled his headphones off. Then he sat up, stretched, and went over to his bookcase with a deliberate air.

A casual observer would've done a double take at finding this bookshelf in a teenager's room. It spanned the whole wall, and there wasn't a cheap paperback to be found - every book was regal and ancient-looking; some appeared to be threatening to crumble into dust. Rune handled them with a familiarity that most boys his age wouldn't display towards _any _book, however, as he methodically searched though several volumes. Eventually he seemed to find what he was looking for, and carried the tome back to bed with him.

He read a page carefully - he seemed to read it several times, in fact - and then he nodded to himself, and flipped his headphones back on. His eyes slid shut, and at first the aforementioned casual observer might have thought he was singing along with the song, under his breath, but if they listened a little closer they would've found that the words he was muttering weren't in any language known to man...

_His name is Kharl. He's in trouble, and I think he might be a vampire... Find him._

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**AN: **Ick. The trial sucked, didn't it? But I _had _to. C'mon, be brutal. O.O Um... er... well, that is... Cackle, though, isn't Rune great? Hopefully this will go over well, seeing as how it was an act of genius that took three minds to come up with...


	8. Fugitive

**AN: **I have been informed that some people are capable of churning out thirty-four chapter stories with thirteen-page chapters. I shall sulk now x-.- But in other news, I thought it was about time I let ya'll know that _this_ story will be fifteen chapters. Isn't it grand?

Ronin-N-Gang: Hee, hopefully you'll like this chapter. Since I'm sure it won't spoil anything really, I haveta say, did you actually think that I could actually kill off Kharl? I would cry XD Not to mention that Rune is way too kick-ass to let him die :D Between the two of us, I'm sure he'll survive... And, of course, I wish their relationship in the manga could be like this too ;) Sigh, not a day goes by that I don't wish I could make doujinshi... but my art teacher is worthless, I haven't learned a thing in that class (and I'm _almost_ certain that that's not my fault, even!). Hmm, y'know, if there's anybody reading this that has that kind of talent, hinthint...

Turtle Kid: XD Ah, Garfakcy, you are so popular... well, of course I couldn't have a fic about Kharl without Garfakcy even making a cameo, but I'm afraid to say that it's going to be a pretty short cameo. However, since you're like the second or third person who's asked about him, I've decided that he's going to have a bigger role in the (coughprequelwhatprequel?cough). Just as soon as I figure out how exactly to work him in there, heh heh...

Sarehptar: Well, since I got carried away and have already replied to your review, I'll just say – (bow) – thank you very much for gracing this humble story with your shining presence! XD Hope you enjoy this chapter too.

Raven of Darkness Shadows: (blush) Aw, I'm glad you liked it so much. I feel so loved, hee. What sites do you normally go to? This is also up on Media Miner, but not on aff net... and I really need to put it up there, even though it takes forever to get to the, ah, material that would make it appropriate for that site, hee...

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**Chapter Eight:** Fugitive

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The only problem was, Rune _hated_ vampires. He'd really been hoping to not have to have anything to do with them ever again. But, he reflected resignedly as he watched Kharl 'sleep', it just couldn't be helped.

His aversion to vampires didn't mean he tried to deny their existence; on the contrary, he was quite well-read on the subject. For instance, he knew that merely having all the blood drained out of their bodies wasn't enough to kill a vampire - nothing was enough to _kill _them, if you wanted to get technical - and he also knew exactly what to do about it.

It was a bizarre scene - the dank little room was lit by mysterious bauble-like lights drifting serenely in the air around the face of a young boy, who first filled an exquisite crystal wineglass with highly suspicious blackish liquid out of a battered old metal soup pot at his feet, and then raised it to the lips of what appeared to be a corpse...

He had to admit that he hadn't expected it to take effect this fast. Only a few seconds passed before the body's instinctive swallowing began to get markedly stronger, and after just a few more moments Rune saw Kharl's eyelids flutter. The vampire hadn't even drained a full glass when he gave a weak moan, and lifted one hand to clutch Rune's wrist, to keep him in place.

Then he opened his eyes. By the light of the odd little glowing orbs they stared at each other for a few moments; Rune gulped.

He didn't feel a thing. In fact, it took him a few moments to even realize that they'd switched places - that he was now pinned to the slab Kharl had been laying on an instant before. Thankfully, it took Kharl about as long to grasp that the only reason he _wasn't _ripping his fangs into Rune's neck right now was that the boy was holding he head away with a single hand on his forehead. His wings strained to their greatest width in an unspeakable agony.

"On the floor - there's a pot -" Rune said simply, and Kharl was off him in another instant.

For a minute or two, it was all Rune could do to remain where he was and wait for his heart rate to return to normal. It occurred to him vaguely that the wineglass was shattered on the floor somewhere; luckily, Kharl didn't seem to mind. This, he thought dourly, was why he hated vampires.

When he finally seemed to be breathing properly again, Rune snapped his fingers - more to get his companion's attention than because it was actually necessary - and held out the crystal glass that appeared between them. "Don't drink out of a pan on the floor like a dog," he grumbled, doing little to keep the disgust out of his voice. Kharl eyed him warily for a moment or two, but he took it.

"How," he asked at length, "did you do that?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued, "What _are _you? You're not a vampire, or a human either..."

Rune turned his head to look at him. "Do you really have to ask? A vampire as old as you should be able to smell it. I'm a witch, of course." Kharl boggled, and Rune let loose a put-upon sigh. "Yes, I know, we've all been dead for over three hundred years. Except I haven't."

"You're Rath's friend," Kharl said abruptly. When Rune took his turn staring, he elaborated, "It's the hair. It's memorable." Rune could've sworn he saw just the slightest hint of a smirk on his face.

He just shrugged, though, deciding to let it go. There were more pressing issues. "The question is," he said softly, "are _you _Rath's friend?"

The slight upward turn of the lips remained, but something in the vampire's eyes softened... "So that's why you're here," he said, nodding to himself. "Does he miss me that much?"

"I suppose," he said casually. "Not that he actually told me a thing; I figured out that you were a vampire on my own." Rune stared meaningfully at the other man. "There's been death all over him for a while now; I'd thought the rumors were true. But I recognized the name - if I hadn't, I would've left you to die. They _are _planning to kill you, right?"

"...Yes," Kharl said eventually. "What happened to _you_, then? Last I heard, witches liked vampires."

"Not all of them." Rune gave Kharl an especially flat glare, and swung his feet down to the floor. "So, is my knowledge of vampire customs accurate? If left like this, you would've revived in the morning, and so tradition insists on a whole big ritual for sticking a stake though your heart, right? So they'll be coming for you?" Kharl nodded, thin-lipped; Rune folded his arms across his chest. "Uh-huh. You do realize that you're going to have to tell me later what you did to make them this mad, right?" The younger boy sighed again, and shook his head. "But all I need to know for right now is... Have you put Rath in danger?"

Kharl fidgeted with the now-empty pot. He thought it looked rather like something from a vampire bar, and a memory from another era reminded him that witches couldn't create organic substances; he must have nicked it... "I showed him my identity. They're probably going to kill him," he muttered, deciding that he was really starting to dislike this boy. "Scratch probably."

Rune nodded, business-like. "Then I guess I'd better get you out of here so I can go save him."

Kharl didn't even have enough time to gawk at him properly before his world turned inside out.

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By the time Kharl was able to climb shakily to his feet again - his stomach was still churning, unfortunately, but he'd been blessedly lucky in controlling it so far - Rune was already searching the contents of a particularly large bookshelf. "Sorry," he called over his shoulder. "I guess I'm a bit rusty on two-person transit spells..." Kharl rolled his eyes, but supposed he just ought to be thankful the boy had seen fit to leave him with all his parts.

"What are you looking for?" he asked, grabbing the nearest chair.

"Something to keep vampires away... from Rath..." Kharl considered that the extra-long pause was a bit of a cheap shot, but before he could say anything to that effect, Rune glanced up at him. "Oh, yes - this is my home. Since you owe me for saving you life, I request that you please not mess with anything. The vampires are going to be looking for you, of course, so it'd probably be best if you didn't leave the house for the time being."

Kharl smiled at him. "What's your name?"

Rune gave him a long look, and then went back to his book with a slight shake of his head. "Rune."

Kharl nodded. "And do _you_ have a plan, by any chance?"

Rune shut his book with a snap, and picked another. "About what to do with you, you mean? How could I, without knowing what you did?"

"Well, it seems I was too powerful, for one thing." He beamed. "But also, I broke about three of the fundamental Codes. One of them I broke twenty-two times."

Rune gawked. "That's disgusting!" he blurted.

"Would you rather I let Rath die, then?"

Rune stared for a moment or two longer, and then looked down at his book again, turning a few pages absentmindedly before saying, "He didn't tell me about that."

Kharl considered offering his condolences, but he couldn't quite bring himself to, so he said nothing at all, and that pretty much put an end to the conversation. Eventually Rune nodded to himself. "I found it. This won't take too long -" he paused to give the vampire a quick appraising look, "- we'll figure out what to do with you when I get back." Once again, he didn't give Kharl a chance to reply but just disappeared, and all he could do was grudgingly appreciate the lack of sparkles or other fanfare.

And then it was suddenly very quite. It was the kind of quite that made things like clocks loud enough to drive the faint of heart to insanity, so Kharl couldn't help but get up and see if he could find some of the things he wasn't supposed to mess with. He didn't turn up anything that looked too out of the ordinary, however, and he could only make a half-hearted effort anyway, so eventually he flopped down on the bed and wished vampires could sleep. He was most displeased to realize that he was really still in prison, as long as he couldn't go to the one place he wanted to be...

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**AN: **Ooh, the tension. Hhn. After rereading this chapter, well, I just hope no one thinks Rune is _unbearably_ out of character... Hopefully he'll be a bit better in the next chapter. He'll certainly be more interesting, mwuha... Not telling _nuthing_. Well, except that the next chapter should be a bit longer; I apologize for how short this one was _again_, eh heh. R&R?


	9. Discovery

**AN: **Rolling Stones CDs and fucking Godiva chocolate - can't live without 'em, man. And thus the tension continues... for a while... (smirk) 'Twist dimensions' are nicked from You Look Best in Shadows, but that's mine too so it's all good XD I still have this feeling that Rune is turning out to be sooo OOC... and yet, not O.o At least I haven't turned him into a girl...

Sarehptar: (deep breath) Okay! (grin) You know super-long reviews are my fav thing in the whole world, even more than pocky, right? Even if half of it was a reply to a PM; it still counts. I love your point about why Rune would be all prickly at Kharl! I hadn't even thought of it that way -.o; It was my subconscious, I'm sure; yeah, yeah... (cough)... Hee. I'm glad you like the witches; I guess I really worked hard to add as many details to this world as I could. Well, I don't know if you could call it 'work', it was more like just letting my over-active imagination run rampant... I didn't think to include actual dragons in this, but I suppose that would've made an interesting twist. You see, the whole vampire part of this story (though the witches didn't turn up until B-chan demanded that Runey be in it) were originally part of a daydream of mine... in another fandom. Heh. 10th Kingdom, actually... oh, how it has grown... XD I love Runey's hair. And I love Kharl; don't you? (Rapidly losing all coherency here, I know... it would make sense if you were looking at your review, I swear... plus I'm sick and so full of chocolate that I can barely move...). And I swear to gosh, switching 'quiet' and 'quite' is my single most-typed typo; I think that this is the second time someone has told me I've done that in _this_ fic... (blushie) Aw, I'm glad you like it so much. But I still say 'Cloaks' is the definitive work on Kharl (and I haven't even finished it, sweatdrop). And not to mention Fallacy! (grin) Love that chapter, by the way, as always... Hey, have you ever read Interview With a Vampire? I think anyone who has will realize that Kharl's relationship with Garfacky in this fic is actually extremely obvious ;) Happy sigh, I'm actually getting really excited about bringing him into the prequel. To be honest, I'm actually having a lot of trouble getting the thing off the ground, so I'm thinking that I need to bring him in soon, heh... I wonder if I can find a way to bring the apron in XD (Now that might be _too_ silly...). Heh, now there's a good New Year's resolution - mine is a terribly cliché 'practice more self-restraint' (especially around food T.T). (beam) And finally, I'm glad you like the length and pacing of these chapters :) I can't _believe_ you managed to write a 300-word story, though T.T As I've said, this thing is pretty-much done, and it's currently at 118 pages - and it's the longest thing I've ever written. Of course, I think I've also written about 66 stories (I don't think every single one of them is on any one site); isn't that kind of like going for quantity over quality...? XD Wow, it is long... Erm, enjoy the chapter? (sweatdrop)

Ronin-N-Gang: (grin) I'm glad you don't mind. Maybe it just seems so short to me because I spent so long writing it, heh... But in any case, I really have read a story that long; there are a couple of Inu-yasha writers, actually, who have a whole bunch of really good stories that're that long, (weeps) Oh well; this just means that I may not be cut out for the world of professional writing, and since fanfiction completely owns me anyways, heh... XD OMG, my art teacher gave me a D- once. She gave me the option of redoing the work, thank Kami, but still, that seems downright insulting T.T Personally I just think she was off her meds that day, mwuha... Hee, how to tell the difference between Kharl in this fic and in the series - if he'd been left alone in Rune's house like that in the series, he totally would've made some kind of demon, just to pass the time (and probably be accident XD). (huggles you) And finally, I'm so glad you also don't think Rune is too OOC! I'm really surprised that no one else seems to think so (and relieved...).

Raven of Darkness Shadows: Hey, I'd love to read your original fictions! Since obviously you have good taste! (shot dead XD) Other than that - (bawls) - you're the third person to comment on me making that mistake in this fic, second this chapter T.T I've really got to start paying more attention when I use that word, heh, don't I...? On the other hand, I'm glad that yet another person doesn't find Rune to be OOC :) Maybe it's just because I'm making him a bit more serious/sane than he is in a lot of the fanfics, nyah...

Arie Date: Heh. 39 reviews on ff net so far - but you are my very first reviewer on Media Miner. (happy dance!) And I was really beginning to wonder why I was posting on this site - but for you I'll keep going ;) I'm glad you're liking it! Hee, Kharl/Rath may be unconventional, but they're by far my favorite pairing in the fandom; I actually have another fic in the works about them, also quite long, and so if I ever actually finish it I'll be holding you to your promise ;) lol...

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**Chapter Nine:** Discovery

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They did not, in fact, figure out 'what to do with' Kharl when Rune came back. He'd come in well after midnight, muttering something Kharl didn't catch about trouble opening a twist dimension, but also about how there'd already been vampires prowling around the mansion when he'd gotten there. He fell into bed shortly after that, and Kharl listened to the clock and wished for a gin until dawn.

And when Rune came down to the kitchen at ten in the morning - stumbling and yawning and squinting all the way - it was clear that he was already unstable as it was, so it was a miracle really that he didn't fall right over at the sight of the table. Kharl beamed at him.

"It seems to me that, despite how you saved my life, we nevertheless got off on the wrong foot," he said. "So I thought I'd make it up to you."

Rune took a moment to absorb the sight - bacon, eggs, pancakes, bagels - before sitting down with a groggy but apparently sincere 'thank-you', and digging in. Kharl found the fact that he obviously was not a morning person to be insanely amusing and endearing, so he was even nice enough to pour him a cup of coffee.

Eventually, however, he deemed his companion conscious enough to carry on a conversation. "So, I did some thinking," he said, steepling his fingers in front of his face, "and no matter how I look at it, I'm afraid I can only see one way to get out of this whole mess. Shydeman and Shyrendora are the Council members who are apparently behind this - normally the crimes I committed would come nowhere near warranting a death sentence, of course." Which he was none too sure was right himself, but he had more important things to worry about at the moment... He smiled grimly. "So I was thinking that, if those two were... out of the way... the Council ought to revert into the pliable bunch they usually are."

Rune raised an eyebrow. "They'll probably be very well guarded."

Kharl grinned approvingly at him. "From other vampires, maybe." He gave the subtleties time to sink in by taking a bite of pancake before continuing. "So if you're the last witch alive, why don't we know about you? I would seek out other immortals, whether or not they were of the same species, in your position."

"It's because I hate vampires," Rune said, with a matter-of-fact shrug. "I only helped you because you'd somehow managed to get Rath to care about you -" and for the first time since Kharl had met him, he actually smiled slightly, "- and I know how hard that can be... But you know, you never did tell me what crimes you committed," he added accusingly.

"Alright, I can see how curious you are," Kharl said, mildly bemused. "How about this - I'll tell you what I did, and then you tell me why you hate vampires."

"I don't want to," he replied, with a complete and utter lack of emotion that Kharl just had to admire. "You still owe me, you have to tell me or I'll kick you out."

Kharl stared at him for a bit, and chuckled. "You have a point, I suppose. Very well... I killed twenty-two mortals, and I also showed my true identity to a human and let it live, as you know. Also, I hate to tell you, but it's ten fifteen on a Thursday morning, making you over two hours tardy."

Rune sat in a slack-jaw trance for a moment or two... and then he jumped to his feet, nearly overturning his chair, and scrambled for wherever the phone was. Kharl couldn't quite keep himself from laughing uproariously.

Eventually he returned, scowling. "I have the stomach flu," he informed Kharl bitterly. "Don't laugh at me." This only made him laugh harder; Rune rolled his eyes. "You know, this is one of the things I hate about vampires," he grumbled into his coffee cup.

Though he was still chuckling, Kharl managed to get out a stammered, "W-What?"

"You're all so arrogant. And spiteful and petty... and over the top; it's really not _that _funny."

"Oh are we now, Mister You-have-to-tell-me-or-I'll-kick-you-out?" Kharl asked, aware that he was having entirely too much fun again. "Intriguing, do go on."

Rune just scoffed, folding his napkin up. "We don't really have time for this, do we? You were suggesting earlier that I might know a way to kill these Shydeman and Shyrendora people, right?"

Kharl found that this boy's ability to change the subject reminded him of Rath's mood swings, and that it was every bit as annoying. He sighed long-sufferingly. "Do you, then?"

Rune frowned. "Oh, I know I have a spell for it somewhere... A normal killing spell won't work, of course, you don't _kill _vampires. It'd take something that drains all their blood... Something specialized." He grinned nervously. "Unfortunately, that means I probably have it filed away."

Kharl shrugged. "You bookshelf isn't _that_ big... unless... you have more?"

Rune gave him a look of dry amusement... and then seemed to grab the thin air next to him and _twist_. Just like that, a sort of doorway or tunnel opened up, hanging in nothing, right there in the middle of the kitchen. Looking at its edges for too long made Kharl's eyes water. "It's called a twist dimension," Rune said by way of explanation. "It's what witches usually use for storage space. Come see for yourself."

It took rather a lot of willpower to get himself to step through that swirling vortex of an entrance, but Kharl didn't let on. Once inside he forgot all about it anyway. Books spread into the hazy distance in every direction; he gaped like a tourist.

"The spell we need should probably be somewhere in this area," Rune said helpfully. He glanced sideways at his companion, and grinned. "I may only be a little under three hundred years old myself, but I also inherited someone else's collection. Books are very important in our line of work, after all."

Kharl shut his mouth and tried to look dignified again. "Right. Of course." He reached out to touch a book in a contemplative fashion, trailing a long finger down its spine. "So, what's the plan? Do we have to just look through every book until we find it?"

"Not we. I," Rune said, removing Kharl's hand as graciously as possible. "Books are more than just words to a witch; they're the source of his power. And to let a vampire -"

Kharl gave an exasperated sigh. "I don't know just what exactly it is that you have against my race," he said a bit tensely, "but if the Council gets to Rath before you find that spell because you refused help..." He let his voice trail off, but his expression implied that he might just give Rune something to _really _dislike.

Rune, for his part, tried to look indifferent. "The protections I put on him will hold. No vampires can get anywhere near him."

"Are you really willing to take that chance?" Kharl asked quietly. This was followed by several unpleasant moments of staring. Finally, Rune made a disgusted face.

"It's not like you'll even be able to read half of them," he groused. "And you won't be able to read any of the actual spells... you'll probably find it and not even realize it..." Kharl just smirked.

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Hours passed. The living room table soon became covered in books and the remnants of snacks. Rune was deeply annoyed to find that, while Kharl could of course not read the witches' language of spells, he seemed to have no trouble with any mortal language the boy could throw at him. Perhaps this was why, when Rune looked up around mid-afternoon to find Kharl staring out the window, he was illogically irritable even for him.

"You force me to let you read my books, and then you can't be bothered?" he snapped. Kharl just smiled at him.

"Oh, I was just thinking... Does Rath know what you are, by any chance?" Rune shook his head 'no'. "So you didn't talk to him last night? He should at least know he's in danger..."

"You want to talk to him." It wasn't really a question. Kharl shrugged, trying to look indifferent.

"Well... if you have his number..." The way his eyes were shining, Rune mused, he shouldn't have even bothered with the off-hand tone. It was probably just the mood he was in, but for some reason that troubled him...

Nevertheless, he got the phone and dialed, handing it wordlessly to Kharl. The way he smiled while it rang was really quite odd, but it was even more odd that the expression remained firmly in place even after, once he'd said hello, he was greeted with a long string of creative expletives.

"You missed me that much, really?"

"You fucker!" Rath said, with feeling. "Where the hell are you?"

"I can't tell you." Even Kharl had to hold the phone away from his ear for a moment or two at the response _that _got. "I really can't; I'm sorry. But I'm okay, for the moment. The problem is... I don't know if you are. Rest assured that you're well-protected... we seem to have something of a mutual friend... but keep your eyes open, just in case."

Rath groaned. "What did you get me into?" he demanded.

Kharl chuckled lightly. "Oh, it seems the Council is even more unhappy with me then I'd thought... Also, since you know what I am, well..." On the other end, Rath gave a heavy sigh; Kharl looked down. "...I really am sorry," he said softly. "I wish I could see you..." Rune, sitting across the table, found that he'd stopped even _trying _to pretend to be reading. Kharl continued hurriedly. "We'll get it sorted out soon, though; we're working on it right now. Everything will be fine."

"It'd better be," Rath griped, _almost _immediately. "If I get killed I'm going to fucking haunt you."

Kharl laughed. "Oh, lucky me." This was followed by more swearing, but the vampire didn't seem to mind.

When they eventually got off, Rune glanced at Kharl over the top of his book. "He really likes you, doesn't he?"

Kharl smiled in a distant sort of way. "I'm glad you think so."

"And you really like him..." Rune stared at Kharl thoughtfully, but the man merely shrugged and appeared deeply interested in his latest book, so finally the blond was forced to sigh and go back to his own.

The rest of the day passed fairly uneventfully. At about an hour before sunset Rune went out, and he returned with another pot-full of pig's blood. Kharl chose not to ask, and merely thanked him. And after Rune had gone to bed and Kharl had recovered from his Change, he spent a while pacing through the house, too edgy now to read any more. For a while he thought seriously about waking Rune up and making him give up Rath's number, and then waking Rath too by calling him. It helped his nerves a bit, however, when he realized that Rath would probably just cuss him out again for calling so late. Lord, he... had such a thing for that boy...

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As the days progressed, a funny thing happened. At first, Rune just got quiet, which was at least a step up from grouching. But _then_ he started asking questions. Mainly he asked about Kharl's past, and since he seemed genuinely interested, Kharl answered. Sometimes, he noted, the boy would get such a wistful expression...

In fact, when Kharl in all his winged, fanged glory wandered into the kitchen late on his fourth night to find Rune up and mixing a drink, the young immortal just nodded casually at him, completely unbothered. So Kharl decided to be unbothered too, and merely sniffed the air in a mixture of amusement and distaste.

"Alcohol? Aren't you a little young...?"

Rune rolled his eyes. "I was a balding old businessman when I bought this," he said as he headed out of the room with his drink in the direction of the living room; Kharl followed.

"You mean you can look any age you wish? Why all this, then?" he asked, gesturing at Rune's effeminate teenage form. "If I could hold any social position I wanted, high school student would _not _be my first choice."

Rune mumbled something as he was sitting down, and a fire sprang to life in the hearth next to him. "I did it to get close to Rath," he said idly. "I knew something interesting was going to be happening around him sometime, though I suppose I hadn't expected anything quite like this."

Kharl laughed again, taking a seat across from him. "Sounds like you need a hobby." Rune looked quizzically at him. "There's an art to dealing with immortality, you know. Rath's problems weren't any business of yours until you made them that way, and now you've wound up housing a vampire."

"Well, everyone deals with immortality in their own way, I suppose." While Kharl nodded thoughtfully, Rune took to staring into the fire. His expression gradually softened into that pensive look again, and after taking another swallow of the shining amber liquid in his glass, he muttered, "Do you still want to know why I hate vampires?"

Kharl ruffled his wings in mild surprise. "Of course; I'm all ears."

Rune seemed to hesitate even so, and he took another drink before he said anything. "Well... Just how old are you, anyway?"

Kharl smirked mysteriously. "I was a mercenary for Alexander the Great, boy - which was in the 300s _B.C._ in case you're a bit rusty, high school curriculum just isn't what it used to be."

Rune gaped for a moment, and then laughed softly. "Well, I guess you'd know all about the history of the witches, then."

"I'm afraid so," he said, watching the flames himself now. "Your people were great allies... and a great example, in the end." He smiled wryly. "After seeing the witches kill each other off, we vampires were able to make the transition to abstinence from human blood fairly bloodlessly. Resistance against the majority opinion was not worth the risk in such a violent society, it seemed."

Rune nodded. "So I understand... It was just that there were so many opposing ideas. The longer someone lived with humans before being given their power, the more they would question the culture's ideals. People like that wanted to use their power for good; they wanted to break their ties with the vampires." He smiled to himself. "Those people were so passionate about their opinions, back then... that I couldn't help falling in love with one."

Kharl went rigid, and could only be happy that he didn't seem to be expected to say anything as the boy went on. "Her name was Tintlet... She was the most serene person I'd ever seen; she was like a dream." He shook his head, and downed the rest of his drink in one. "She was against the thought of my becoming immortal at first, but she knew she was one of the last witches left... so she gave me her power, when she died."

By the flickering light Kharl searched Rune's face, but his eyes remained firmly locked on the fire. "I'm so sorry," he said, feeling dull and depressed all of a sudden. All immortals knew what it was like to fall in love with someone and lose them in practically the same moment, after all...

Rune laughed again, though he looked tired and like he wished he had another drink. "It's funny to think that you actually understand what I'm talking about, you know that?" He shrugged sadly. "I just thought that, if the vampires had tried to help keep their allies from killing each other instead of picking sides and helping them along, maybe it would have turned out differently."

"I didn't fight on either side," Kharl said suddenly. "If it's any consolation." Rune glanced up at him, startled, and then smiled and looked away.

A peaceful kind of quiet settled over them as they each watched the fire and thought their own thoughts, for better or worse. Kharl was just about to open him mouth and say something, when he realized with a jolt that Rune's eyes were closed. He chuckled to himself. Ah, to be a _living _immortal. He had gotten up and was walking passed him, with the vague plan of going somewhere else where he wouldn't wake the boy, when a hand grabbed his wrist.

"Kharl, you know, I... never told _anyone _all that." Kharl got just long enough of a look at the tears, and something suspiciously like desperation, in Rune's eyes to set off the 'danger' alarms in his head, before a pair of lips closed over his own.

Though Kharl just stood there like a rock - not so much shocked as incredibly _pained_ - Rune wrapped his arms around his neck and pulled him close, and after a moment slipped his tongue into the other's unresisting but unresponsive mouth. It was only when he pushed Kharl back onto the chair that the vampire gently turned the boy's face away by the chin.

"I... really wish you hadn't done that to yourself," Kharl whispered. Rune's body convulsed in a silent sob.

"Why... for a mortal...?" Rune glared at him in sudden anger, made all the more venomous by the tears in his eyes. Kharl grimaced helplessly, and the boy stalked out of the room.

Kharl sat where he'd been left until the fire died down to embers. At some point he let his head fall heavily back against the chair, eyes shut tight. The dull depression was back, except now it had an edge to it. It occurred to him that it was hard to be three hundred. And after a little while, he got up and found the nearest door out of the house.

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**AN: **Now _that _was a pretty long chapter :) Sadly, though, I'm pretty sure it sucked (aren't I always?), since I wrote most of it at two o'clock in the morning... Worse yet, I only have two pieces of chocolate left! Soon I will be reduced to eating Nutella on raisin bagels. (whimper) But at least it's snowing; unlike Rath, I like snow :)


	10. Hemorrhage

**AN: **Damn it. I _am_ one of those lame people who actually uses a word like 'Hemorrhage' in the title of a chapter of a vampire story after all. (sulks)... (brightens) Hey, but on the plus side, we've reached the conclusion of this story's second arc, which I like to call the 'Rune is so _Cute!!'_ arc... no? Hee. I like all three arcs quite a bit (oi, the vanity), but I think the next one may well be my favorite... though it makes me wonder, what with how long it took me to write this, whether I actually managed to keep the tone and characterizations consistent, heh...

Turtle Kid: (claps) O, I like Tsubasa! That's a really cool parallel to draw, I'm flattered that it came to mind XD But seriously, that's a point that I've tried to make for AU fics in the past, so it's really cool to hear someone making it back at me, whether or not it has anything to do with my writing... And yes, you are kind of psychotic for deriving a 'feel-good, fluffy' feeling from that last part... but then again, writing it sure made me happy, so I guess we're all just psychos together XD

Sarehptar: Oh, oh! (bounces up and down, okay, so I just had coffee, but still) Your quest for any and all Kharl fan fiction made me think; for one reason or another, I have somebody else's fanfic from a long time ago saved to my computer – so long ago, in fact, that, for one reason or another, it doesn't seem to be archived on ff net anymore. It's called 'Phobias', by Pika Cheeka, and it's truly one of the best Kharlfics I've ever read. It's primarily KharlxGarfakcy, your OTP, and it's one of those fics that leaves me feeling like I could never compare and I should just give up on writing forever, oi... So, if you don't think you've read it before, or would just like to have your own copy, I'd be happy to send it to you (it seems wrong not to share this with the world; maybe if I posted it and clearly stated that it was by someone else...?). Hee. (breathe) Okay, moving on... I'm glad you liked the funniness. Humor just worms its way in when I write Kharl; he's incorrigible like that ;) I'm also glad you liked the kiss, grin. It wouldn't creep me out at all if you started waxing poetic on your love for Kharl, believe me, considering that I'd probably agree with everything you said ;) (nervous grin) Ah, yes, that prequel... well, I'm afraid to say that I'm being sucked in to the Eragon (Duuurza) fandom at the moment, but then again that may be just what I need. If I vent some steam over there, I can come back refreshed, kindathing... It's just that I've discovered that it's hard to keep Kharl from getting _too_ serious when I don't have someone kind of silly and violent (spec., Rath or Garfakcy) as a backdrop... heh, I thought I just said that humor occurred naturally around Kharl...? O.o; Shydeman and Shyrendora just suck all the humor out of everything, I guess... (cackles) Ha – this time I did the smart thing, and searched the chapter for every occurrence of 'quite' and 'quiet'! (I'm so sad, I know...). And yeah, it's more like 68 stories now (:D), but the vast majority of them are one-shots. I think only eight of them are even over 10,000 words o.O; Ah, but I have lots of really long unposted ones...! Well, a couple anyway... heh... (crosses fingers) Well, I managed to update just four days after your review, so I just hope that this stupid site sends out alerts this time :)

Chizz-muffinChik: lol, yeah, it seems that no one got any alerts about the last chapter. I'm glad that you managed to find it anyway :D Thanks for reviewing both chapters! I'm really glad you liked the interaction between Kharl and Rune (that one really seemed to shock everybody, cackle...). I felt bad doing that to them, too... well, actually I had quite a lot of fun, but it was sad too... but in any case, I think Runey will be okay ;) I said _nothing_, nyah... And, you want more Rath/Kharl goodness? (smirk) Funny you should mention...

Raven of Darkness Shadows: Thanks :) I'm glad the ending surprised you, hee. And is this a quick enough update, you think? ;) And, thanks again, I shall have to check out your stories – I'm looking at your Zetsuya profile right now, mmm, vampires :D

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**Chapter Ten: **Hemorrhage

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Rune lay in bed with his headphones on, eyes closed and head bobbing slightly to the music. He sensed the aura of death leave his house even so, but he told himself that he didn't care.

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Kharl, meanwhile, walked the nighttime streets, and thought about many things.

First of all, 'walked' wasn't really the right word. His movements were more of a graceful gliding between shadows, nearly invisible to humans, the way vampires do - so it would've taken another vampire to notice how, really, he was dragging his feet.

The thing was that, now that he was actually out of the house, he was seriously kicking himself. But what else could he have done? He seriously doubted that the witch would be much more help to him, now.

It wasn't like he didn't feel guilty about that, anyway. The boy's story had admittedly been rather moving, and in another time and place he might have allowed events to take their course - even if it had only been for one night, because of course Kharl was quite aware that he had been being used, to take up space for someone who couldn't be there anymore... And it wasn't like there was anything _wrong _with the boy, he was witty and beautiful and all, _but_...

Kharl found that these thoughts were accomplishing nothing except possibly making him even _more_ frustrated, so he abandoned them. There were only about a million more important things he ought to be attending to anyway. The way he saw it, he had three options right now - he _could _take the fast option and face Shydeman and Shyrendora head on, _or _he could take the slow option and try to find enough other vampires crazy enough to fight with him, _or _he could forget about any chance of saving Rath whatsoever and go into hiding. Each one seemed to end with both him and Rath dying much sooner than he would've liked.

All in all, it really would've helped if he at least had a place to spend the night. So of course he wound up going straight to the one house he absolutely could not enter.

He stared at the mansion on its distant hill from the other side of the iron-wrought fence, and felt like his mind was falling apart. It always seemed to do that at the most inopportune moments...

He really did have to wonder what was wrong with him. He never _used _to be this bothered by the thought of dying. Like most vampires, there had been times - most of the time, actually - when he had thought immortality was a curse. He wasn't quite certain what he thought of it now, except that he was pretty sure the change had something to do with Rath. He thought it had something to do with not wanting to be apart from him...

A little wary of the potential consequences, but operating on a horrible suspicion that had weaseled its way into his brain, Kharl jumped the fence with ease to land in a quiet _wumph_ of feathers on the other side. He frowned. Hmm... No painful explosions or invisible walls, and no forgetting why he was here or anything like that either. _"No vampires can get anywhere near him..." _As far as Kharl was concerned, this already qualified, but to each their own he supposed...

_I mean... he wouldn't really... _Kharl tried to stay on his guard and take his time crossing the grounds, but it was hard.

He reached the ground below Rath's window none too soon in his opinion, but nevertheless he hesitated once he was there. Just what exactly was he planning to do here? If he broke the window - assuming he was allowed to get that close, of course - he'd wake Rath, who would be _seriously _pissed. And what would his excuse be? 'I just wanted to see if I could'? But at least there was a bright side - Rath wouldn't be able to get close to him, either, to try to wring his neck or whatever... hopefully...

So, a bit irresolute and still feeling like he was being rather insane about the whole thing, Kharl spread his wings to fly to the boy's third-story window... and suddenly felt a whole lot less stupid. Because, though it couldn't have possibly been more than forty degrees out here, the window was already open.

And even when he shot up in a complete panic only to find the black-haired youth sleeping peacefully in bed, he wasn't particularly relieved. Because when he hurried over just to make sure that he really _was_ sleeping, though it took him a split-second to realize he was doing it, he found that he was able to reach right out and sweep some stray hairs out of Rath's face.

Rune's points for being 'witty and beautiful' abruptly disappeared. He had undeniably stopped the spell, out of sheer _spite_. Kharl's face fell, and then hardened again into a grim smile.

His options had suddenly been narrowed down to one. All he could do... was protect this boy, for as long as he was able, no matter how pathetic and pointless he knew that seemed. He had decided that it would probably be a lot easier if he stopped wondering exactly when he'd gotten so sappy, and just went with it.

Kharl brushed the rest of the locks of hair out of Rath's face, and bent down to kiss him tenderly, creating a most pleasant tingling sensation in his stomach. "Time to wake up..." he murmured into the boy's lips, "sleeping beauty..."

He felt Rath shift under him, moving his own lips slightly in response... and then he sort of jumped to the side, with a semi-muffled yelp of 'shit!' He stared at Kharl in wide-eyed terror for a moment or two, and then pointed weakly at him. "Y-You..."

Kharl smirked. "Were you hoping for someone else?"

Rath just stared some more, still pointing. After a few seconds he bit his lower lip fretfully. And then he wasn't pointing anymore, he was grabbing Kharl by the collar and crushing their lips together. This, Kharl reflected, was something he might be able get used to.

"You _bastard_," Rath groaned, fisting his fingers in lavender-tinted hair. "You... you're just a bastard..."

Kharl licked the boy's lips one last time when they parted before moving down his jaw to trail small kisses and nips over his neck, albeit very _carefully_. Rath threw his head back to give him better access, and shuddered in pleasure. "Would you forgive me..." Kharl said softly, "if I... took you far away from here...?"

Rath opened his eyes halfway to look at him in vague curiosity. "What...?"

Kharl sighed, and pulled away to rest his weight on his elbows over the boy. "I'm afraid it's not safe for you here anymore," he admitted, smiling apologetically.

Rath scowled, and reached up to yank the man's hair. "Bastard," he said again, blandly. Then he sighed too, and let his hand fall onto the pillowcase above his head. "I thought I was 'well-protected' or something. What happened?"

"I got kicked out... Well, I was about to be, at least," Kharl said, with a pained grimace. "It's a long story. But listen, we'd really better get out of here. I don't know how long..." His voice trailed off as he saw that Rath was smirking this time.

"Will you take me to Hawaii?"

He chuckled. "Anywhere you want," he promised, because he felt so very _proud_ of this boy just now... And then his world exploded.

He heard it coming, too. It made a _whoosh_ sound, as several vampires soared through the window in rapid succession. He just barely had time to register what was happening before one was grabbing him and throwing him away from the bed. Kharl was able to get his footing and catch hold of the new-comer's wing before he could get to Rath, but then another grabbed him from behind... After several very _quick _moments, he found himself being held back by both the other vampires - back from two white-haired figures, one of whom was holding Rath, kicking and glaring murderously, off the ground by his face.

Needless to say, he couldn't help the scream that escaped him, as he bared his fangs like an animal.

Shyrendora merely tightened her hold around Rath's jaw in response, and Shydeman chuckled. "Really, Kharl, have you no composure?" He shook his head. "Well, I suppose not, we seem to have interrupted a very _tender _moment." He face contorted in disgust. "How repulsive..."

Shyrendora sneered. "But don't worry - we won't let you live with the shame long."

"Well... long enough," Shydeman amended, stepping closer to where Kharl was being forced to his knees, "for us to find out just what you did here, to keep any of us from getting in until tonight. We're _terribly _intrigued. The other one, though..." He smirked, fingering a strand of Kharl's hair absentmindedly. "...Unnecessary."

The voice from the shadows was almost drowned out by the shriek Shydeman let out when Kharl ripped his fangs through the other vampire's hand. Nevertheless, it could be heard to say: "Are you quite done yet?" And then it said something else...

And _then_, the second-hand blood running down Kharl's chin disappeared, along with the blood flowing from Shydeman's mangled hand. The arms around him, Kharl found, were growing rather slack. Shydeman had just enough time to look decently stunned, before his eyes slid shut... After that, there was a moment or two of silence punctured only by Rath, on the floor, swearing between gasps for breath.

"Rune...?" Kharl whispered, rather stunned himself. He didn't wait for a response, though, before hurrying to Rath's side. He didn't look up until he'd made sure the boy was okay - though the swearing had pretty much already assured him of that - at which point he saw Rune stepping out of the shadows, hands clasped behind his back and smiling pleasantly.

"I'm sorry," he said cheerfully. "I was here the whole time, I just thought I'd give you a little scare... I... I'm really sorry..." He looked down, biting his lip fiercely, and Kharl could smell tears. He couldn't help but sigh - he might be three hundred, but he _really _acted as old as he looked sometimes...

Rath, meanwhile, gaped hugely. "_Rune_?" he managed. "Y-you mean, you did...? What the _fuck_...?"

Kharl patted him absentmindedly on the head, and rocked back on his heels. "Are you trying to tell me," he asked, grinning dangerously, "that you nearly let us get killed? No, forget that question, apparently you did. Incidentally, did you _really _just finally find that spell now?"

Rune stared at him, and then looked to the side, trying hard to choke back his tears. "No," he said miserably. "I found it the second day after we started. I just... I wanted you to..." He shook his head hopelessly. "And I didn't mean to... scare you like that, really. I was going to lure them here - get it over with - but..." He took a deep, shuddery breath and let the sentence trail off.

"The _fuck?_" Rath said again, with slightly more force.

Kharl shrugged. "I told you I got kicked out," he said, and beamed as if he'd just explained everything. Then he stood up, and clasped Rune on the shoulder. "Get a hold of yourself," he reprimanded gently. "It's not as bad as you're making it out to be, I promise. After all, you learned something at least." Rune looked quizzically at him, and he smiled. "I mean, it turns out I'm not the _only _immortal out there."

"The fuck?" Rath said, sounding lonely.

Kharl's eyes twinkled. "Oh, and thank you," he added, sending Rath into abrupt hysterics. Rune smiled slightly, though.

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**AN: **I hate writing climactic-ish battles like that. I suppose it turned out all right in the end, though... (morbid grin) And yes, they _are _having this touching conversation in the middle of a room full of vampire corpses. Review, please?


	11. Mess

**Disclaimer:** Hmm, I just now realized that I stopped doing these a while back... (sweats)... Look! It's the Mr. Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man! (hides)

**AN: **(deepest of bows) I'm so sorry for the delay! My excuses are numerous: Eragon, gaiaonline, the subsequent e-mail buildup... How long has it been? Precisely two weeks, you cry? (sweats) And after making you wait so long, all I have to offer is a chapter _most_ appropriately named 'Mess'. This thing really doesn't deserve to be termed a 'chapter', I fear. All plot development grinds to a screeching halt herein; it's pretty much just about cleaning up the 'mess' of the previous chapters and setting the stage for some new ones. I beg you, just think of it as an interlude -.-; I'm too lazy to actually _do_ much about the wretched thing, so I'll just try to get the next chapter up on the double in apology... (weeps) And after ya'll left me such wonderful reviews, too!

Chizz-muffinChik: (grin) Glad you liked the fluffiness, and the twistiness. This chapter is pretty much _all_ fluff, lol... Yes, I've always pictured Rune as being something of a drama queen; not so far off the mark, surely? Though I'm afraid we're not going to be seeing too much more of him for the rest of the story, (shuffles feet nervously) Well, no, I lie, he'll be in the last couple chapters... a little bit, heh...

DemonicStormFox: (blushie) Aw, you're a sweetheart, have a cookie. Neat _and_ organized _and_ well-written... (points at review) See this, everyone?! XD And, yes, Kharl/Rath is, in my opinion, God's gift to fandom (so cute! so snarky!); they're one of my favorite couples of all time, and certainly my favorite from Dragon Knights. o.o I just realized, there's at least a moderate possibility that I may have devoted more pages to these two than to any other single couple... even though I've only written two stories about them, lol...

Ronin-N-Gang: (hearts) Two reviews! Thanks :D For the review on nine: (giggle) Or, if I wanted to be authentically Japanese, he could make a giant living octopus hotdog... lol, I can see Rune rushing out like that, too – it probably would've been _more_ in character, actually – but he did need to find that spell... (giggles some more) Hee, dream rape. Ah, but who knows if he's not doing that already...? (giggle, snort) And, I apologize for making your brain explode ;) That scene seemed to have that effect on most people, hee... As for ten: lol, making the spell not work on Kharl probably would've made a lot of sense, actually, sweatdrop. But if Rune could do that, I wouldn't have had a plot! It, erm, would've seemed too convenient, sure... (grin) Yes, poor Rath indeed. I'm afraid the poor boy's troubles have only just begun, cackle...

Yoko Jaganshi: o.o Four reviews! (huggles j00, and you get also get a cookie) lol, I love how every single person was so shocked by Runey-kun's advances, (preens) But, again, this is only the tip of the ice-berg of what I intend to put Rath through in the next few chapters ;) I love the boy, I really do, I just have a... unique... way of showing it, hee...

Vaguely Downwards: Yay, you're back! (tackleglomp) No, but, I understand this whole 'things' thing. Gaiaonline springs to mind... must... resist its evil power...! Be grateful you didn't have to endure the heinous delay _that_ brought on, heh. In other news, I'm glad you liked chapter seven :) The ending was my favorite part, too – I had so much fun with Rune's part in this story (as I'm sure you will have figured out by the time you get to this chapter, lol), and bringing him in wasn't even originally my idea... Even more, though, I'm glad you actually enjoyed the trial. I rewrote that once, and I still never was entirely satisfied with it... But I guess it's at least passable :)

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**Chapter Eleven: **Mess

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Years later, Kharl would uphold that performing damage control after the whole fiasco had been an adventure in of itself.

The first step, more pressing matters at hand or not, had been to explain everything to Rath. This had taken some time, and he had reacted at various times with pure shock, disbelief, angry hysterics, and sulking. Kharl was just happy to get away with minor bruises when Rath found out that he had, as Rath put it, 'let himself get kissed' by Rune.

He would've expected to be more worried about Rune at that point, but Rath had merely give the blond a long and thoughtful look. And then he'd said, "Sorry." Rune, understandably, boggled. Rath grinned awkwardly. "I mean, I'm sorry there's really nothing I can do. Other than not kicking your ass." Rune, who knew Rath well, couldn't help but grin too.

But all that, of course, was the _easy _part.

The Council was - naturally - in an uproar. They were also floundering, however, without two of their most influential leaders. Some members demanded, practically foaming at the mouth, that Shydeman and Shyrendora be brought back, but the majority seemed strangely relieved... Another thing the majority appeared to agree on was that attempting to kill Kharl suddenly wasn't very interesting anymore, especially after he announce that he had a witch on his side. His final shocking act at that very memorable Council meeting was the most astonishing of all, however.

"_B-But, Lord Kharl..." Tetheus stammered, an event by itself. Kharl smirked in amusement; the other vampire coughed. "Are you sure this is wise, at a time like this?" he asked softly._

"_Oh, but you know what they say - no time like the present," Kharl said airily. "And I'll be around if you need me, you know, not that I think you will." He chuckled to himself. "I'm sure you'll make quite a competent replacement. Or at least a more popular one, at the moment."_

_Tetheus scowled mildly. "Very reassuring, Lord Kharl..."_

And then, just when he'd thought he'd had all the loose ends tied up, he remembered his daytime employers. He had entered the mansion on his next teaching day nervous to the point of twitching over a rather pathetic excuse involving a deceased brother-in-law, only to discover that Rath had not confined any of his concerns in his parents. He knew that he probably should have been concerned about the family's chronic communication issues, but as it was he had to admit to being relieved that he merely had to say they must have missed his memo.

And after that, Kharl rediscovered a most wonderful sensation. Though people were still quite edgy around him when he went out at night, no one was actually trying to _kill_ him, and no one was trying to kill Rath either, and his relationship with said boy was at that delightfully tentative stage that never failed to entertain without being _too_ angsty, and to top it all off he'd found a brilliant excuse at last to shirk all of his Council duties. Aside from still feeling the occasional craving for human blood, of course, everything seemed to be right and good in the world, and he actually dared to _relax_.

Considering how long he'd been around, he ought to've known better.

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Well, Kharl may have considered this to be an enjoyable stage in their relationship, but for his part, Rath was irritated. He usually was, of course, but still.

"Kharl, you know... I'm only mortal."

Kharl looked up from his book from where he sat at his usual post by the window with a 100-percent innocent expression. "What?"

Rath sighed heavily. "Hmph. Never-mind." He went back to his homework; Kharl frowned.

What Kharl didn't know was that, once his face was out of sight behind his Trig textbook, Rath smirked. He thought he was beginning to understand how this crazy man worked. If he approached the subject openly, Kharl would just brush it off. But this way...

"Oh, okay," Kharl said cheerfully, and went back to his book.

Rath's fingers itched. "...I just provide you with _endless_ amusement, don't I?" Kharl beamed at him, but decided that it was wisest not to answer.

Twitch. _Okay, he won that one. Bastard. _Rath sighed again, rather more genuinely annoyed this time, and resigned himself to the wait.

The problem with vampires, Rath was learning, was that they seemed to possess a never-ending resource of patience in all things. They didn't speak another word to each other until it was time for Kharl to go, each _apparently _absorbed in his separate activity. Finally Kharl stood, straightening his vest briskly, and hefted his bag of so-called teaching materials onto his shoulder. "Well, I guess that's it for this week," he said pleasantly. "Until next Tuesday, then..." And with a smile, he leaned down to give Rath a quick peck on the cheek.

Rath grabbed his sleeve, and glared. "Jerk," he accused; Kharl blinked. "You're taking me on a date this weekend."

Kharl chuckled, deeply amused. "Oh, am I now?"

Rath nodded vehemently, despite the light awkward blush tingeing his cheeks. "Yeah, you are. You may have all eternity or whatever to take it slow, but I've only got around eighty more years, in case you forgot."

Kharl shook his head, grinning. Refreshingly blunt as always... "Of course I'm aware of all _that_; I was merely surprised that you would want to do such a... 'coupley' thing."

Rath smirked. "Yeah. I wanna go to a theme park, the movies, and a fancy dinner; the works."

"...Really?"

"No, you dork! You're taking me clubbing."

Kharl frowned. "You realize that I wouldn't be able to go to a... 'normal' bar, of course."

"So?"

"So it's against the Codes to bring a mortal to a vampires' gathering place."

Rath snorted. "And you doing it anyway would be surprising, at this point, to who exactly...?"

Kharl laughed. "That's 'whom', dear." And while Rath was trying to decide whether or not to be mad about the epithet, Kharl's expression softened. "But you _do_ have a point... we'll see." That said, he leaned down to give the boy another soft kiss, on the lips this time.

_Eighty years... _Rath linked his arms around Kharl's neck, and Kharl deepened the kiss, eyebrows drawing together. _Oh, gods, eighty years..._

Their tongues engaged in a short but heated battle; Rath rose from his chair in a clumsy attempt to win dominance, but Kharl pushed him back down and onto his desk and pulled away, grinning.

"Jerk," Rath repeated moodily, though the effect was rather spoiled by his breathlessness and reddened lips.

"But that's why you like me," he returned, and moved in to lap at the junction of Rath's jaw and neck. There was significantly less temptation to do something _truly _regrettable when he did this during the day, he noted, allowing him to concentrate more fully on the boy's salty-sweet taste... Against his better judgment, because he knew he was at least five minutes late in leaving already, he allowed one hand to skim the top of Rath's leg before coming to rest lightly on his hip, fidgeting with the hem of his ratty old AC/DC t-shirt. Rath shifted underneath him in an impatient grant of permission, so Kharl slipped his hand under the shirt to ghost his fingers across the warm, smooth skin of his stomach. Rath moaned...

"Forgive me, sir, but your father wants... wants you to... right awa..."

Rath could've sworn that everyone in the mansion probably heard the shriek that followed.

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**AN: **(cackle) ...I seem to do that a lot, ne? But you had to know this was coming. It's so cliché that it's practically inevitable, nervous grin. Incidentally, yes, the maid/butler/whoever may deserve to die, but I promise to make it up next chapter... (_evil_ cackle) Incidentally, I have an **important question** to put to the readership regarding that chapter. Do you think... I could get away with posting a lemon here? XD Yeah, I feel kind of bad about giving it away, but at least it'll give you something to look forward to... I'm looking for a serious answer, by the way; it'll be up on Media Miner anyway, so if you guys don't think I should risk it, I'll just edit it and put up a link for the unedited version. Basically I'm just trying to get out of the extra work of editing it ;) Plus I don't want to debase my creation, sigh...


	12. New

**Disclaimer: **Mm, _pretty_ fire :D

**AN:** (sweatdrop) Well, it turned out to be a more of a normal-length wait, actually... maybe even a couple days over normal...? (weeps) And it took – from my incredibly lazy point of view, of course – a feat of super-human strength just to get it out this soon (in spite of having it basically all written already, yes. Whatever will I do when I get to college and actually have to do real work...?). Okay, let's see. First of all, there was Gaia. (makes rude gesture at Gaia) Well, at least I'm gaining more insight into the workings of love/hate relationships, but still... And then, I went to the public library for the first time after living here for six years, and discovered, (gasp!), that they actually have a semi-decent collection of manga and anime; that definitely did not help... And then, when I was least expecting it, Real Life snuck up behind me and beat me viciously over the head with an AP European History textbook. And _then_!!, I finally took a look at this chapter, and decided that in spite of having rewritten it a couple times during the original writing, I needed to do it _one more time_. So, yeah. (wipes sweat from brow) At long last, here it is, the lemon chapter – and, just for all ya'll nice people who told me I could get away with it, in unedited form! **Please note:** I know it's somewhat graphic – well, some people might not think so, but on the other hand I know some people might be offended... If you are of the latter persuasion, **please for the love of God** don't report me right off the bat T.T Even as lazy as I am, I promise that if you just tell me in a review or send me an e-mail or PM, I'll take it down and edit it ASAP. I know I'm going against the rules here, but please understand that a lot of other people wanted me to, too :) ...(headdesk) Argh, the author's note eats my braaaain...

Dark Angel Rath: (crosses fingers) Okay, I'll give it a go... even though I've been booted once before – and for a fic in this fandom, no less... Hee; in any case, thanks for the recommendation. I've heard of that story before and the summary interested me, but it seems that most of the time I just don't have time to read fics anymore, (tear) Nevertheless, I'll try to remember it :) Moreover, I'm really glad you like the story! And I'm glad you think they _both_ make good vampires, (cackles suspiciously)

Chizz-muffinChik: Hee, I think we all love Kharl. Those who claim they don't are just in denial. But, as for whether things turn out all right in the end... well, it might depend on your definition of all right. Or who you ask. Aw, they'll sort everything out eventually ;) (nods) And, yeah, I don't think the lemon leaves too much to the imagination, but on the other hand it's not exactly a kinkfest, more romantic and a bit silly than anything else (cus these two are cute like that :D)...

Sarehptar: XD Goodie, I'm glad you didn't think that little so-called plot twist was too cliché (well, more like, I think we can both agree that it was cliché, but in a good way, lol...). Heh - on the other hand, I hope _I _don't wind up being chased around with a big ass sword, for not going in to more detail about the parents' reactions; Chizz-chan wanted that too... (sweats) Perhaps I was just over-eager to get to the _really_ fun stuff? Or perhaps I thought that it could just as easily be summed up in a few sentences? Or maybe I just went with the first thing that popped in to my head, like usual...? Hee. German rave parties? Oh, that only sounds like just about the funnest thing in the whole world, I wanna _go_...! But even more so, I'm glad you like the bit about Hawaii , because, (whusp), that shall be referred to again in a later chapter... Only referred to, though; no actual descriptions of shirtlessness T.T Perhaps a side-shot sequel-thing _is_ in order...? Hee, and, _Doberman_! Such a noble, loyal puppy he is :D It's even funnier if you've read a certain Pet Shop of Horrors story, I forget which book it was in... As for your second-to-last paragraph... (snort, giggle) No comment! (beam) And yes, by the way, you are forgiven for not reviewing (a lot of people didn't know about it), especially since your friend Leeayre sent me such a mind-blowingly long, wonderful criticism by e-mail... and I've had her response to my reply sitting in my inbox for about a week now, speaking of; I'm such a horrible person, heh...

Turtle Kid: (squee) You like OffBeat too? Yay, I adore that manga:D But more importantly, I'm glad you didn't think the wait was too long. If I was writing it as I went, I wouldn't think two weeks was anything either, but I feel bad because it's pretty much all finished, aside from the occasional bit of editing that I have to do because it's sooo ooold... Also, I know what you mean about the problem of planning your stories, lol. I need to have a basic plan or else I'm not confident enough, and yet if I plan it out _too_ much then I wind up getting bored. In this story, for instance, another reason it's split into three arcs in my head is that each of them were kind of planned out separately. It's merely a coincidence that each part wound up being five chapters; those splits really represent the times when I had to take a long hiatus to figure out what the heck to write next, heh... (nods) As for the lemon, yeah, that's what I'm hoping. It's not like it was the whole point of the story (considering that there are still more chapters!), and it's more romantic than kinky in any case... well, I hope people think it's a little kinky, hee...

Ronin-N-Gang: XD lol, sorry it took so long. For my part, hopefully I can keep that from happening again :) But, but, what is this 'If' story you speak of? I heart Saiyuki, so I wanna read it, but ff net won't let me search with just the word 'If' T.T Who's it by...? Hee, yes, a lot of people think I'm crazy for liking Kharl too. I tell them they're just in denial; all the cool people like Kharl. (nods) Yup! All... five of us... eheheh... (grin) But in any case, I'm glad that you've been looking forward to the lemon. Since every single person who reviewed said I would probably be able to get away with it, it's unedited... even though I'm still nervous about it, what with having been booted once before, and for a story in this fandom too; heh... (crosses fingers)...

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**Chapter Twelve: **New

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Just calling it 'spring break' did not, apparently, make it any more inviting. At least it hadn't snowed recently, but that didn't stop the weather from being bitterly cold. Rath stalked along the wind-swept sidewalks, lined with bare-branched and shivering trees, and exercised to its fullest his ability to impose an aura of darkness and gloom upon anyone in the immediate area.

The bastards (his parents) had even been monitoring his phone calls. The only reason Rath was here now was the handy tree outside his window. They probably wouldn't be doing this if the couple hadn't let on that their feelings were mutual, but it had been the only way to stop them pressing charges. It _hadn't_ been enough to stop them firing Kharl, unfortunately. Rath had taken his revenge by not doing a bit of homework for the week since, not that it had accomplished anything.

So now he walked. He had been doing so for quite some time. He wasn't exactly sure where he was going, except that he was fairly certain it would be someplace far, far away. Hah, so there.

Sadly, he was becoming more aware by the minute that he couldn't feel his knees. Not to mention how hungry he was. He'd left before lunch, and it surely must be about dinner time by now. Normal kids at least took a backpack when they ran away, didn't they?

A street light flickered on as he walked beneath it and he stopped to stare, as transfixed as a moth. He was only distracted when, down the road, other lamps began to follow suit one by one. After a moment he sighed and leaned against the pole, bothering to take in his surroundings for the first time in a while.

He found with grim humor that he was in one of those typical cozy suburban areas, the kind with a white picket fence, 2.5 children, and a dog. It was also probably the kind that had one of those neighborhood watch programs, maybe if he was lucky somebody'd at least call the police and he'd have a place to spend the night...

Rath let himself slide down the lamppost until he was sitting, and tried vainly to massage some warmth back into his legs. He wished with every fiber of his being for a cheeseburger, as another wave of dizziness broke over him.

_I don't think I've ever... been this pitiful before, wow..._

At first he wondered if he'd jinxed himself and it really was the police, when he looked up to find a car purring down the street towards him. Except that, as 'purring' implied, there were no sirens, and no lights either. Plus the vehicle was neon blue. It did pull up beside him, though, and Rath stared as the driver's-side window rolled down to reveal crazily-spiked lavender hair...

"Neon blue?" he asked eventually, because it sounded appropriate. Kharl grinned at him.

"What did you expect, black? _Any _vampire can have a black car." Rath just shook his head, looking dazed, so he added, "Come on, get in."

Rath was silent for a good ten minutes, at which point he finally got bored with watching the scenery, because they were circling the block. He said: "How did you do that? Find me?"

Kharl glanced sideways at him with amusement in his eyes. "You know how they say you always instinctively know where the one you love is?"

"Which is so lame I could puke."

"Except with vampires, who you might know have _very _good instincts. Of course, it helps if you also know a witch..."

Rath grimaced. "So everybody knows I'm gone now?"

"Afraid so." Kharl smiled gently, watching the road. "Does this mean you really don't want me to take you home, then?"

"Would I have come this far if I wanted to go back?" he asked grouchily.

Kharl rolled his eyes. "Well, I don't know, it just seems like it was a rather impulsive decision on your part, but perhaps appearances are deceiving." Rath's stomach chose that moment to growl for emphasis, and Rath merely sulked. Kharl smirked. "And on that note, would you like to come to dinner?"

Rath eyed Kharl's black-feathered wings with a grin, but decided not to rise to the bait. _Any_one could make that joke. "Sure."

So they drove through the land of fuel-inefficient SUV's and tire swings, and a peaceful sort of silence settled over them because Kharl didn't ask any questions so Rath didn't say anything, either. This was abruptly shattered, however, when they arrived at Kharl's house.

"_You_ live _here_?" Rath demanded as they pulled into the driveway, too shocked to resist stating the obvious. "We're still in the middle of the set for fucking _Edward Scissorhands_! What is _wrong_ with you?"

"Believe it or not, a person _can_ get tired of living in a castle on a hill," Kharl said mildly.

Rath groaned. "Oh, good one, very nice," he grumbled miserably as they followed the front walk to the door.

Kharl's house, Rath discovered, seemed to betray no eccentricity other than that which would be naturally warranted to a teacher. It was tastefully furnished with a touch of classic elegance - what of it he could see, anyway; it was also rather messy. The tables, chairs, shelves, couches, and even the floor were all littered primarily with papers and books, though the occasional knickknack shoved above the sea of decay. Rath caught sight of an old record player as they passed through the living room and arched an eyebrow; okay, maybe a _little_ eccentric...

When Kharl led him into the dining room, however, all of this was abruptly put out of his mind. Rath gaped. The millions of books were still present, but now they were being put to good use rather than just lying around, as holders for a small army of candles. At the center of it all was a little table, one of the places at which was set with enough food to _feed _a small army.

"Should I even ask how...?" he wondered eventually.

"Oh, but why bother?" Kharl asked with a chuckled. "What do you think? I believe you said something about a fancy dinner..."

"I told you I _didn't _want one, moron," Rath said, but he was grinning. "Anyway, I can't believe you left the house with all these lit. If one of them fell down this place would go up in like two seconds." He said all this as he took a seat in the chair Kharl had graciously pulled out for him.

"You're _blushing,_" the vampire said simply, in Rath's ear, which only served to worsen said condition.

"Yeah, well, _you_ did it, you fag," Rath accused. Kharl choked on a laugh; Rath rolled his eyes and started eating without waiting for an invitation.

Eventually Kharl managed to compose himself again, though he couldn't help but grin a bit as he said, with otherwise perfect formal solemnity, "Do you mind if I drink?"

Rath grinned again. "Go right ahead."

So the vampire disappeared into the kitchen, and meandered back a minute or two later with a glass of what could've easily passed as rich red wine. He took a seat across from Rath and merely watched him eat for a few minutes, smiling in the soft candle-light. Eventually, though, he spoke. "So, Rath... Out of curiosity, can I assume that you really don't have any plans?"

He shrugged. "Well, I didn't when I left," he said casually, "but now I guess I'm gonna stay with you."

Kharl scoffed. "Oh really?"

"Well, you're not going to turn me in to my parents, are you?" Rath demanded.

Kharl sighed, and gave Rath a calculating look. "Far be it for _me _to play the part of the fussy old man and hinder your rebellious escape from conformity, of course, but I just think you ought to know that you'll probably regret it later." When Rath glowered at him, he grinned suddenly and toothily back. "In more ways than one, possibly."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you'll eventually miss your parents," he said matter-of-factly, "and don't tell me you won't, even if you don't miss Lykouleon and Raseleane, you'll miss your _parents_. And also..." He hesitated, sweeping his eyes across Rath's form. "Also, you can't really expect me to restrain myself forever in your presence day and night. Again, in more ways than one."

"Pervert," Rath complained.

"That's not the way you need to worry about." Kharl's eyes, Rath noticed, lingered especially long at his throat before hurriedly darting away, and he took a long drink from his wineglass. Rath was silent for a few moments, but when he spoke, it was with confidence.

"So what?"

Kharl arched his eyebrows. "Don't tell me think you _want _to be a vampire," he said, with just a ghost of irritation in his voice.

"So do _you_ want me to die in eighty years?" Rath countered. "And sure, maybe it's naïve to want to be immortal, but what's the alternative? Do you want _me _to want to die in eighty years?"

Kharl grimaced. "No," he admitted, and sighed in a defeated way that implied that he didn't want to talk about it anymore. Rath just beamed.

"So does that mean I can move in, then?"

Kharl shook his head, but it was merely an expression of exasperation; a moment later, he laughed. "You leave me no choice, I suppose. Just consider yourself warned." Rath gave a mock salute, chopsticks in hand, and went back to eating.

Eventually they moved into the stage of the evening where serious conversation lost its luster and they talked of little things - like Kharl's latest hopeful job and whether Rune had tried to meet any more vampires yet - and then they moved past that too, and into the stage where Rath was slouched back and sliding out of his chair moaning about how stuffed he was, and Kharl had gone through three glasses and was feeling quiet comfortable. Kharl chuckled, watching him with half-lidded eyes.

"You look silly," he declared. Rath just shrugged, suggesting that this was not his greatest concern at the moment, and clutched his stomach. Kharl shook his head again, in amusement, and stood. "Well, there's no bed - not much use for one, you know - but I'll help you clear a couch off," he offered. Rath shrugged again wordlessly, and followed him back out into the living room.

They made quick work together of pulling the stacks of books off of one of Kharl's grand and antique-looking couches, and the winged one stepped back to eye it critically. "I hope you'll be comfortable. I should have some blankets around somewhere..."

Rath smirked. "What are you, my mother? I'll be fine."

"Your mother? How _cold_..." With a smirk of his own, Kharl finally gave in and reached out to wrap a hand around the back of Rath's head, and pulled him into a kiss. As Kharl delved his tongue greedily into his mouth, Rath discovered that his knees had grown rather weak, but he was hard-pressed to care. After some period of time that Rath found to be entirely too short, Kharl pulled away enough to murmur, "I doubt it..."

Rath just gave him a glazed look, however, not quite able to remember what they'd been talking about, and pulled him back. Kharl found that he couldn't really complain about this treatment, so when the boy sunk feebly onto the couch, he half-stood over him with one knee on the couch as well, and held Rath's face gently to show him how to angle his mouth just _so_.

For his part, all Rath could do was hang on to the front of Kharl's shirt and be in awe of this kiss, as usual. Somewhere in the back of his head a little storm of implications was brewing, despite his best efforts to ignore it. Everybody knew what a couple really _amazing_ kisses could lead to, especially alone at night at your boyfriend's house, on his couch... even if you _were _a guy yourself... Rath shuddered as Kharl gradually slipped one hand down the side of his face to his neck, then to his shoulder to play with his shirt collar, and then down across his chest to rest at his hip...

All in all, even Kharl had a little color in his cheeks when he abruptly pulled away. "I _warned _you," he pointed out with a small, awkward smile. "You need your sleep-"

At which point he found himself on his back on the floor with Rath kneeling over him, a strangely _intense_ look in his eyes. "You're a damn tease," he snapped.

Kharl stared at him, nonplused. "Tease? I didn't want to rush you-"

"Rush me?" Rath rolled his eyes. "Wasn't I the one complaining the other day that you were taking everything too slow?" With that, he kissed him roughly once again. Kharl sighed against his lips, knowing that he was going to have a great deal of difficulty controlling himself once it came to a certain point, but still not quiet able to protest...

It was a minute or two later when Rath suddenly moaned, and even Kharl couldn't hold back a low hiss, as their middles accidentally brushed. Rath gave Kharl a wide-eyed, startled look, but then graced him with another feverish kiss and rocked his hips forward again. Kharl groaned into his mouth, and reached up to the small of Rath's back to pull him closer and arched his back at the same time. He couldn't help but find it strangely erotic, albeit almost humorous as well, to allow himself to be dominated by this child of a boy that he... felt so strongly about...

Kisses, Rath was finding, were very wet, especially when made sloppy with passion. But that was okay, just like it was okay that Kharl tasted suspiciously coppery, because that was just what Kharl tasted like. Rath moaned again as Kharl thrust his tongue deep into his mouth, only serving to intensify that tense ache in his stomach. It was such a powerful feeling that it made him dizzy, and he could tell from the delicious way Kharl writhed beneath him that he felt it too...

Abruptly, though somewhat regretfully, Kharl flipped Rath onto his back, and beamed down at him. Rath noted vaguely that the man's eyes had taken on a reddish, lustful sheen. "You rush things _too _much, dear," Kharl informed him huskily.

"Don't call me 'dear'," Rath growled in response, and quickly dragged him down by the hair for another kiss before he could say 'okay, honey' or something like that. Kharl left his lips soon, to trace an intoxicatingly slow trail of kisses down to his collarbone, while at the same time reaching a hand up under the boy's shirt. Rath gasped in surprise and arched into the touch when Kharl brushed one of his nipples, and Kharl smirked.

"You like that?" he murmured, mock-sultry.

"Pervert," Rath snarled. This only caused Kharl to smirk more, and to swiftly yank the boy's shirt off. Rath didn't protest - though he might have just been startled speechless - but either way, Kharl first returned to where he'd left off at his collarbone and kissed down across his chest before finally taking his nipple into his mouth. Rath gave an agonized whimper and arched up again most wonderfully as he suckled and lapped roughly at it, so Kharl moved over to give the second nipple the same treatment. Utterly delighted by the way he was squirming, Kharl licked and kissed his way down to Rath's stomach, to swirl his tongue around the boy's navel - and then he glanced up at him, and it was Rath's turn to find something illogically sexy; Kharl's eyes were blood-red.

"You had better tell me to stop _right _now," Kharl threatened, crawling up his slight form again to nuzzle his neck.

"Don't you dare," Rath breathed, and sunk the fingers of one hand into the man's hair in anticipation of whatever was to come. That ache in his stomach seemed to be filling his whole body. Kharl grimaced, knowing that he would probably be _most _disappointed in himself later - but then his fingers were fumbling with the zipper of Rath's pants and pulling it down to allow him to reach underneath.

Rath let out a wordless half-scream and bucked his hips, his own hand flying down to cover Kharl's and press it harder against him. While he lay there trembling and drew a shaky breath, Kharl grinned again. What a _sensitive _boy...

When Kharl's fingers curled around Rath's erect length and began to move, Rath's hand grew weak against his, and he gradually gave up on trying to guide him and just lay, moaning, beneath him. This was really, he realized, the most incredible thing he'd ever felt; knowing it was Kharl - who could make his stomach go funny just by looking at him - who was doing this to him just made it that much better. Considering how aroused he had already been from Kharl's previous ministrations, it was really no surprise that, when Kharl kissed him deeply again, he couldn't hold back anymore and tumbled over the edge with an almost startled, animal cry.

When he was finally able to open his eyes again, he added an embarrassed blush to his already flushed state, because Kharl was sitting on his stomach licking his fingers and was looking down at him with a decidedly wicked expression. "Was that all?" he inquired, and grinned hugely. "Don't tell me - I was your first?"

"I'm going to rip your hair out," Rath grumbled, if a bit breathlessly.

"Next time I do that to you, probably," Kharl agreed, and kissed him. It was a slow, soft kiss at first, but eventually Rath leaned up into it and deepened it, acquiescing to engage in a lazy dance of tongues. He reached up one hand, fingers splayed out, to tentatively touch Kharl's chest, and was pleased when the vampire made some sound in the back of his throat and leaned into the contact. "...like that?" he muttered, and smirked. Kharl gave a deep chuckle, and sat back.

"Don't tell me you haven't had enough yet?" he asked, feigning incredulity.

"Have you?" Rath returned bluntly.

"Never," he said, with feeling, and Rath didn't even have time to consider the possible insinuations of the sentiment, because Kharl was kissing him again. And while he did so, he slipped a hand down Rath's side - sending shivers up his spine with just the brush of a fingertip - and between his legs, eliciting a startled yelp.

"But I thought you said you knew you were gay," Kharl said curiously. "Didn't you ever read gay porn?"

Rath gaped at him. "No!"

"Liar."

"...Shut up." Rath shifted impatiently under him and gave him a you're-so-dumb glare; Kharl merely beamed devilishly. Finding that Rath was more relaxed now, he slid a finger into his entrance. Rath grimaced more from discomfort than pain, so Kharl kissed him again to distract him. He could tell the black-haired boy was really wondering what the point to all this was, by the way he grimaced again when he added first a second and then a third finger. Determined to show him before they got to the painful part, Kharl prodded a bit further... and Rath's whole body suddenly convulsed, and he had to pull out of the kiss to gasp for breath.

"And I think you _really_ like that," Kharl purred, and for once Rath was too stunned to offer a hot-tempered reply, but merely nodded faintly; he even frowned in disappointment when Kharl abruptly stood. Kharl ignored it, though, and stared down at him with his glowing eyes for a moment before commanding softly: "If you really want to do this, take off the rest of your clothes." And Rath couldn't help but obey, because Kharl was doing the same. His shirt, Rath noticed, had laces in the back so that it could be taken off around the wings; he watched as the vampire undid them with deceptive ease, and then moved on... And when he was done, Rath was so entranced by how he was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen that he could _almost _ignore the fact that Kharl was staring at him in an equally lecherous fashion.

Kharl stepped forward to kiss him after a moment, though, and presently Rath was overcome by a sense of warmth and quiet as the lavender-haired man pulled him gently to his knees on the floor. It took Rath a moment to realize in his already hazy state that Kharl had wrapped his wings around him as well as his arms; he smiled, and rested his head against Kharl's chest.

"You really should at least try to get me to stop," Kharl said, and laughed in a strained sort of fashion. "Though I promise nothing at this point."

"You talk too much, you know that?" Rath asked, touching Kharl's lips lightly. He felt the skin beneath his fingers stir, as if the vampire were about to protest further – but the only sound that came out was a strangled groan, as Rath thrust himself down onto Kharl's length.

He hissed and bit his lip, and Kharl managed to stroke his face in a concerned fashion but couldn't seem to do much else at the moment but keep holding him. Once his ragged breaths had slowed somewhat, Rath shifted in a way that made Kharl choke on air. "Move," he insisted.

Kharl inhaled rather shakily himself, and laid Rath gently onto his back before pulling out half-way or so and pushing forward again. Rath's eyes fluttered closed and his lips trembled invitingly, so Kharl bent down to claim them and thrust harder.

At this point Rath's world collapsed into a much smaller sphere that only had room for a blurry mix of sweat and skin and limbs and the white-hot heat pooling inside him again in a whole new way. When Kharl reached between them to stroke his length again, more roughly than before, he thought his body might tear itself apart right then. He managed to hold himself together for a little while, though, even _with _Kharl moaning in his ear. It was only when he opened his eyes to find himself looking into Kharl's eyes, red-glazed blue as they were and set in that gorgeous face that was currently shining with sweat and slightly but not unattractively contorted in concentration, that he just _had _to let go or die. He opened his mouth in a silent scream and his back arched of its own accord as he clawed at Kharl's arms desperately; the vampire followed a moment later with a frantic gasp of Rath's name into Rath's lips...

And after that they lay there for a very long time, listening to each other's breathing slow. Eventually, even that faded away, and nothing could be heard but their heartbeats and a clock ticking somewhere, and everything was soft around the edges.

Rath snuggled closer, mumbling something about being cold. Kharl blinked blearily around, and tugged on something sticking out of the edge of the encroaching clutter – the item revealed itself to be an afghan. After a moment or two of blank staring, an expression of recollection crossed Rath's face, and he tried vainly to choke back his giggles; Kharl remained suspiciously solemn as he draped the shawl over them.

"You know, Kharl, I – love you."

"Too cliché," Kharl announced, and then buried his nose in the boy's hair to hide his ridiculous grin. "I love you, too..."

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The first thing Rath became aware of upon waking was that he had fallen asleep. He hadn't meant to do that; for one thing, he hadn't wanted to leave Kharl alone. And yet, there it was – the warmth and comforting solidity of a body still beside him – well... wow...

He opened his eyes to find Kharl staring back at him from a few inches away. "Do you dye this?" he demanded, and tugged lightly on the white section of Rath's hair. "It's been driving me crazy, but I didn't want to wake you..."

Rath eyed him quizzically. "No, I was struck by lightening." Kharl chuckled, and it occurred to the boy that perhaps he had wanted to hear his response more than the answer...

Rath tilted his head up and gave Kharl a quick kiss, to through him off his guard, and then asked: "Kharl? Will you make me a vampire now?"

It was a little sad to see how the man's gaze turned cold, but Rath stared defiantly back. "Ah... I was under the distinct impression that we had discussed this already..."

"So? I want to talk about it some more." Kharl sighed, but Rath was resolute. "For starters, if it's so bad, why didn't you just let the Council kill you?"

"...Do we really have to do this _now_?" Rath just stared at him, and so Kharl took another deep breath and held it for a moment. "I see... Well, if we must talk about it at all...

"First of all, the Council could never have _killed_ me, in the human sense. Even having a stake driven through one's heart wouldn't be a real death, you see? It's like a nightmare of starvation that you can't wake up from, except that the pain is real..." He made a face, fingering a few strands of Rath's hair without seeing. "Believe me, I've tried it before. There is no escaping this existence. All these years, and the pain and temptation every night - you know, it could take you centuries to even be able to be this close to a mortal without killing them - they're so much greater than anything you could be feeling right now."

"You don't know what I'm feeling right now," Rath grumbled.

"I don't need to." Kharl smiled darkly. "This may be the last thing you want to hear right now, but you're not the first person I've been with. And yet, obviously, I am alone now. Nothing lasts forever."

Rath was silent for a long time. Finally he said, a bit bitterly, "So? I would... 'give up' my mortality for just two hundred years of... this."

"Maybe you think so now," Kharl said gently, "but what about the off chance that you got tired of me after a decade or two? It's not exactly unheard of, in case you hadn't noticed. Where would you be then?"

"Yeah, I could get sick of you in twenty years, or I could get run over by a car tomorrow," Rath returned. "It's not just about how long I get to spend with you... I also want to know what you're going through."

Kharl stared at him. "You think you would be able to console me if you were suffering too...?"

Rath looked down. After a moment, he switched tactics rather than answer. "So you could do it for the other people you loved, but not me?" he demanded.

"I didn't do it because they asked me to," Kharl said, with perhaps a bit more force than was necessary. "I was a monster back then; just be glad you didn't meet me until now."

"Oh, I'm thrilled," Rath snapped, and glared suddenly at him. "God, you bastard! You really _are_ acting like a parent! Why don't you stop worrying about what you _think _is best for me, and just do it because I want you to?"

Kharl sat up and stretched, and cast him a disparaging look over his shoulder. "How could I say I loved you if I did that?"

"Because I won't believe you otherwise," Rath said through gritted teeth. "If you don't do this, I might as well go home, since you obviously don't want me around!" And from the way he glared insolently, it was obvious that the last thing he was expecting was for Kharl to laugh.

"'You might as well go home'? My dear boy, if you can give up that easily, I _really _don't think you're cut out for immorality."

Rath stared at him with wide eyes for a moment or two, and then he rolled over onto his side, facing away. Kharl pursed his lips, aware that he'd really blown it, somehow... He decided that it would probably be best to give the boy some space, and stood; Rath remained dead to the world as he replaced his scattered clothes and left the room.

Kharl pottered into the kitchen and ladled himself another glass of the stuff that was gently steaming on the stove, and wondered what on earth they were going to do. How in the world had they wound up arguing after something like _that_? How were they supposed to live together civilly if they could do that? More to the point, how were they supposed to live together _after _doing that...?

He finished off his glass and got another, even though he wasn't really hungry, and stared out the kitchen window for a while to try to quell his growing feeling of unease. Everything looked right; the air was crisp and the stars were out, a perfect night for flying... He sighed, and abandoned the half-finished glass on the counter to go find Rath.

Rath was no longer in the living room - nor were his clothes - and Kharl cursed his worthless instincts. "Rath?" he called, annoyed by how plaintive it sounded, and wondered whether he was even still in the house. But he'd been so adamant about not going home earlier... "Rath?"

This time, he got a reply. It was faint, from another room, but still discernable to a vampire's ears: "Fuck you!" Kharl sighed in relief.

He headed in the direction he thought the voice had come from until he found a suspiciously closed bathroom door; he rapped smartly on it. "Now, now – locking yourself in the bathroom again? Isn't that a bit over the top?"

"It's not locked, you bastard." Rath's voice broke as he spoke... Kharl sighed, steeling himself for perhaps some raging-teenage-hormones induced tears, and let himself in.

But of course it couldn't be that easy. The overwhelming smell temporarily froze him in place, as irresistible as a glacier, and he wondered why he'd thought that it could possibly be that easy. When had it _ever _been that easy...?

Rath's face was pale, and he had broken out into a light cold sweat, but there was no sign of tears. Instead, he stood with his left arm submerged to the elbow in the sink, which was plugged and full of... red water... For once, Kharl's cool exterior utterly failed him. He rushed forward with a cry to jerk Rath's arm out where he could see it, and nearly just broke down at the way Rath yelped at the jarring movement, at the way the flesh was so totally mangled...

Rath smiled thinly as he let Kharl lay him down on the floor. "Now you'll have to..." He didn't finish the sentence, but Kharl thought he got the idea.

"Godsdammit, you're not going to die!" He shook the boy by the shoulders, ignoring the look of pain that crossed his face again. "I'll call the police - I can be gone by the time they get here-"

Rath grabbed his sleeve as he moved to stand, and in spite of the way his hand was trembling, he did a good job of looking smug. "Listen to yourself. You're panicking... Why? You know I'm too far gone... you have to..." He closed his eyes. "You have to, because... I don't want to die." He laughed like it was really funny, but he sounded tired.

Kharl covered his face with a somewhat bloodied hand for a moment while he composed himself, and then he was able to frown coldly down at the fading boy. "You know this is wrong, Rath," he stated. "In the long run, you'd be happier if I let you die."

Rath chuckled. "You're so sure... guess I can't argue... But what about you?"

Kharl stared at him. That... was cruel. That was below the belt. That was really just too much... "Bastard," Rath murmured lovingly.

What else could he do, when he said something like that? He'd run out of time, anyway. He gathered Rath up in his arms, noting how he was already as limp as a puppet...

Turning someone into a vampire, Kharl knew, was the most darkly sensual experience possible, and it had been so many centuries... Even the best love-making was downright boring in comparison, and he knew in the back of his mind that he wouldn't be able to be around humans for weeks. The state of searing ecstasy he was in rendered him so nearly incapable of thinking, however, that it took him some time to even realize the identity of the moister pouring uncontrollably down his cheeks. If only the boy would stop screaming, he reflected muzzily...

And then, there it was. Rath's eyes had always had a red tint to them, but nevertheless these were not the eyes of the boy he knew. They were crazed, feral... He was beyond making any sound, now, and merely trembled spastically as a pain many times greater than the one that had just almost killed him wracked his body, centering on the brand new wings emerging from his back. Kharl felt oddly detached, still more than a little buzzed as he was, and he remembered all the other people he'd done this to and wondered what it felt like...

Eventually Rath relaxed, falling back into his arms choking for breath. Kharl stood up with him and carried him, bridal-style, out to the kitchen, where he watched impassively as the boy devoured everything that was left in the pot until his trembling stopped. After he was done he lay down on the floor, so Kharl picked him up again and carried him back to the couch. Rath lay with his eyes closed, breathing shallowly now, but he tossed and turned and Kharl knew he was discovering how impossible sleep was now, and would be...

How many times had he seen this before? he wondered. It had been so long that he'd actually dared to hope... He really hadn't changed at all, had he?

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**AN: **Oh, my... So dramatic T.T Maybe _too_ dramatic...? Well, I'm sure you knew it had to happen _sometime_, nervous grin. The whole attempted-suicide bit was completely Bulma Wannabe-senpai's idea, blame her... But at least I finally got to give them a lemon!! (happy) Hmm... now as long as no one decided to just report me after all after reading it... (sweats) R&R?


	13. UnderCover

**Disclaimer: **I totally own it. Complete and utter pwnage. Definitely. _You_ believe me, right?

**AN:** Yes, it's true! I didn't die! Heh. Now let's see how many of you remember me, lol... Oh, wow. It's been about two months, hasn't it? Wow o.o (grovels) I'm really sorry about that; I really am. But if it's any consolation, I've been using (some of) the time constructively for a change—the wonderful Leeayre is now my beta, and because of her this chapter got four whole new scenes (as if it wasn't long enough already, heh). Please don't blame her for the wait—she didn't tell me to write that much, for one thing—in some cases, at least, she brought to my attention things that had already kind of been bugging me, but which I would have been _way_ too lazy to fix without being prodded to xD She's an insightful, encouraging, and ever so very _patient_ beta, and I definitely feel like this chapter is way better thanks to her help. Everybody should go read her DK story and leave her worshipful reviews! Hee... (end gushfest) On another note (almost forgot to mention this oo): **warning**, there's another lemon in this chapter :) But, you know, if you're still reading after the first one, you probably aren't too bothered, right...? Okay, now I better gush over my reviewers for a bit instead. I hope some of you are still waiting after all this time T.T

Chizz-muffinChik: First of all, yay, I'm glad you liked the lemon (heart heart) Secondly... I'm sorry Rath broiled your lobster xDD But don't worry, I don't think things are going to be quite as bad as you were thinking... not in _this_ chapter anyway, (cackle)... Sorry for the wait!

Sarehptar: Well, it's been about a month and a half, but I'm _sure_ you can remember everything you wrote me xD Ha, you didn't expect a lemon by chapter 11? Waiting that long's a major achievement for me! (I'm sure I'll grow out of it one of these days, sweatdrop) But in any case, it makes me probably more proud than I deserve to be that you managed to like it in spite of the "squick!" factor (and the Celine Dion; that makes me giggle). Aw, I'm sorry I didn't show as much of Lykouleon and Raseleane's reactions as you would've liked—chronic laziness, y'know—but hopefully this chapter will make you feel a bit better; thanks to Leearye, it at least contains a detailed account of Rune's reaction to Rath being a vampire :) And other stuff picking on Runey-kun, too... Also, I'm glad you liked all the spontaneity; that chapter really had a lot, didn't it? And I'm not just talking about the things the characters did, either; the car thing was totally spur-of-the-moment xD It's pretty embarrassing, though, that Rath's attempted suicide was not my idea at all (I knew that Kharl needed to turn him into a vampire during that chapter _somehow_ but had no idea how until I talked to BulmaWannabe, sweatdrop), when it's so in-character for him... Hmm... yeah, I know that last scene was kind of lacking. In my laziness I decided that I didn't want to try and find a non-cliché way to write it in a normal, descriptive manner, so I decided to try and create a kind of hazy, almost dream-like atmosphere... but, thanks to my laziness, I don't think I conveyed that very well ; Hmph; that's something I really want to write, too... But luckily I'll have another chance next chapter! (cackle) Assuming I don't go with Leeayre's other idea, anyway... hmm... But okay, enough rambling, I want to be able to post this tonight xD

Turtle Kid: Well, I'm pretty sure I set a record with this chapter xD I hope you haven't forgotten this silly little story... Hey, have you read offbeat 2 yet? I love that series; it sucks so bad having to wait so long... but oh well; I can catch up on my twenty-odd other series while I'm waiting, sweatdrop. Also, I'm glad you don't think it's too over-dramatic :) Ha, my beta told me I shouldn't worry so much about the drama, but I can't help it...

Raven of Darkness Shadows: Ah! You were the one who wanted me to read your original fiction, right? I read the first few chapters of Beautifully Alone (did I review? I don't even remember oo) but then I just... got busy...? Oi T.T I'll get back to that sometime... the fact that I can still remember is a good sign, right...? Sweatdrop, but anyway. I'm glad you liked the chapters! And don't worry, I know how school goes, I'm just glad you came back :)

Dark Angel Rath: Heh, another person who didn't like the last scene T.T Like I said to Sarehptar, I was kind of trying to go for a hazy, dream-like feel... but, because of my chronic laziness, it didn't quite work -.-; Oh well—that kind of thing is something that I really want to write, so next time I'll put some effort into it. Maybe I'll find a way to work the fangs in too, hee. Thank you for being honest :) And don't worry, this couple has gotten way too cute to go and make them all angsty now! In fact, this chapter pretty much contains nothing but meaningless fluff, (heart heart). ...(whispers): But don't get used to it, mwuoha...

Ronin-N-Gang: Oh, whee, thanks for the story! I'd forgotten about that until just now; I'd better go read it xD (And I just read Saiyuki Reload 4-6, so I'm all re-obsessed). Hee... I'm glad you liked the mushiness and all ;) And I'm sorry it was so sad... well, I'm not really, it was supposed to be after all xD Don't worry though, it'll get better this chapter! Ah—and, as for Rune and Thatz... well, he winds up having to try very hard not to kill Rune in the last chapter, at least for a minute or two. (cackle) But that's just two chapters away now, so I'm sure you'll be reading all about it in a year or two!

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**Chapter Thirteen: **UnderCover

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Dawn always came eventually. From the couch Kharl watched Rath watching for the first signs of brightening in the sky. For nearly an hour the boy had paced from one end of the living room to the other, and Kharl had grown exhausted just watching him—now, though, he was still, and his dark form silhouetted by the streetlights put Kharl in mind of some kind of reverse gargoyle, waiting to be unfrozen by the sunrise...

Though Rath had been up and about for several hours, they hadn't really said much to each other. Dawn always came eventually, Kharl wanted to tell him, but he was too tired to break that silence.

A single chime rang out to announce the hour from somewhere in the chaos of refuse—seven o'clock, Kharl knew, because he could see pink clouds around Rath's shoulder. He managed to sit up, and after another moment hauled himself to his feet. "I'd better get breakfast started-"

Somehow Rath was there, grasping his elbow. _Fast_, Kharl thought, _-well, of course..._ "This isn't going to be like before, right?" he mumbled in the general direction of the carpet.

His fangs, Kharl noted, gave him a slight lisp, rather like someone who'd just gotten a tongue ring. He chuckled, strangely relieved. "I wouldn't have even thought of leaving you if it was, _darling_." Rath bared the aforementioned fangs to voice his distaste, but nevertheless did not relinquish his hold on Kharl's elbow.

_That touch_—he was so hypersensitive right now that even just Rath's hand on his sleeve was enough to make his skin tingle. Just another way in which Turning a human was worse than killing them, Kharl though wryly—and yet he even dared to wrap his arms fully around Rath and pull him close. The sun would be completely up in just a few moments, after all. Rath exhaled, and Kharl could sense his breath brushing over his chest.

The Change back was so anticlimactic that it left Rath raising an eyebrow in surprise. Wings that had previously seemed quite real when ripping free of his skin now dispersed like fog, and it was almost disappointing to return to perceiving the world through the vague suggestions that were all human eyes and ears could give him. Nevertheless, he distinctly heard Kharl breathe a sigh of relief. The man touched his back through one of the long rips in his t-shirt, and smiled. "You're going to need a whole new wardrobe."

"Hmm, yeah... but not from wherever you shop."

Kharl just rolled his eyes. "Breakfast," he said. "I think you'll find that pancakes are every bit as appealing as they've ever been, during the day."

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Kharl cooked, and Rath lounged at the kitchen table with his head thrown over the chair back. Maybe it was just paranoia, but Kharl thought he sensed a routine in the making. He wondered if the boy had ever cooked a meal in his life.

"Coffee?" he offered as he poured himself a mug.

"Naw." Rath sat upright at the sound of a plate being set in front of him, and Kharl saw he was smiling. "I'm actually not sleepy at all. So I guess I'll never have to worry about not being a 'morning person' again, huh?" Kharl shrugged his agreement, sipping his drink. Rath nodded to himself. "And I definitely can't go home now... so that means no more school." He grinned wider, but Kharl scoffed.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. Do you have any idea how many doctorates I've gotten, just for something to do? Not that they're that helpful, mind you, I can't very well put a degree from 1873 on my résumé..."

Rath didn't reply to that, and seemed to become preoccupied with his scrambled eggs for the next few minutes. Eventually he said, avoiding eye contact: "So I guess it's like that every night?"

Kharl took another drink before answering. "'Fraid so," he said absently. "I told you, didn't I?"

Rath snorted. "Okay, okay... you're pissed at me, I get it." Kharl sputtered into his coffee mug, but Rath ignored him and continued. "And yeah, you told me." He smiled cheerfully. "The Council's gonna kick your ass, you know."

Kharl couldn't help but flinch. "Ah, hmm... Well, I expect I should come out fairly unscathed. The current leader is a close old friend of mine, and at least this absolves my previous crime of letting a mortal see my true form..." He eyed Rath disparagingly. "Though, technically, we're supposed to kill any mortals who see us, not Turn them. I instituted that rule myself, because it was more _humane_."

Rath glowered at him. "Hey, stop trying to tell me that I made a mistake now that I can't do anything about it, okay? You're just bitter. Let it go." He smirked. "Take me clubbing."

Kharl's expression softened at that. "Okay," he assented. "But not tonight. I think it would be best if you just stayed in the next few weeks, to get used to it."

Rath shrugged, and spoke with his mouth full: "Yeah, 'tever. Don't forget."

The rest of the meal passed in a moderately comfortable silence. Afterwards, Rath made himself at home with his feet up on the table, and Kharl did the dishes. He was busily contemplating the middle distance, wondering just what he _would _say to Tetheus, anyway, when suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around his waist from behind. "I'm sorry," Rath grumbled into his shoulder. "I did it for you, though."

Kharl smiled. "You think that makes me feel better?" he said, but teasingly. He turned around to press a firm kiss to the boy's lips, and he tasted wonderfully like pancake syrup, so they kissed for a very long time.

**

* * *

**

Rath had meant to call Rune first thing after breakfast, really, but in the end he wasn't able to get around to it until after Kharl had left for his new tutoring job. He was a bit surprised that the witch hadn't called the house already, and he couldn't help but worry if maybe Rune just hadn't wanted to talk to Kharl.

When he picked up on the fifth ring, Rune's 'hello?' sounded rather stressed, but that was normal. "Hi," Rath said tentatively.

"Rath!" He had to admit he was pleased by how enthusiastic the other boy sounded. "My god... where are you? You're at Kharl's house, aren't you?"

Rath laughed. "Yeah."

"That's what I thought. I've already been placing some basic veils over the house—even if you weren't there, I knew Kharl would be the number-one suspect, so I did it as a favor—but if you really are, I think I'd better do a little memory modification on everybody on the block, at the least. Hmm... damn, and I'll have to do something about that girl Kharl's tutoring—her whole family..." Rune's voice trailed off, to be replaced by the sound of frantically turning pages.

Rath gaped like a carp. "Y-you mean my parents have already called the cops?"

"Well, you have been gone for _slightly_ over twenty-four hours now," Rune said distractedly. "And for all they know you could have left of your own free will, or Kharl could have kidnapped you, or some unrelated third party might be holding you for ransom, or who knows what else... Though to be technical, _no_, they haven't called the police—yet—they've just hired detectives so far. They'll want to avoid a big media stink if at all possible, don't you think?"

Rath had the decency to look slightly embarrassed. "Well, yeah, I guess so..."

"But at least you've been lucky on one front. The very fact that Kharl's a vampire has called for covering his tracks—for one thing, it makes people a lot less likely to realize that he should've died a couple millennia ago—so your parents don't even have his home address. About all I really need to do is modify the memories of anyone who's likely to have seen him often enough to remember him..." He trailed off vaguely again, and gave a sigh that implied that his flippant choice of words might have been rather misleading.

"You're... sure you don't mind helping us out? We'd probably be safe if we left the country..."

"Don't be silly," Rune scoffed. "I'm indebted to Kharl, and you're my best friend."

Rath beamed. "Oh, I'm glad. So, would you mind doing one other thing for me?"

There was a long silence, but the sound that broke it was merely that of a book being slammed shut. "What?" Rune sighed.

"Well... I kind of left all my stuff at the mansion, you know..."

"God, no!" Rune groaned. "You can't tell me you expect me to shift through that pit, _no_-"

"You can teleport and stuff, you're the only one who can do it!" he begged. "Just get my CDs! And my posters, I don't think Kharl would mind... And some clothes, I guess."

"You 'guess'...? Is that _it_?"

"Well, if you happen to see any of my mangas-"

"Forget I asked."

"Hey, you give me a straight-line like that, and-"

"I'm just going to hang up now-"

Rath abruptly paled. "_Wait_. I, um—I haven't actually told you what I called to say."

"Oh?"

He would have laughed at the irony of it all, if only it had all been happening to someone else. From the guarded way Rune spoke, he might actually have been waiting for this the whole time. "Um. Well... I'm a vampire."

"_Oh._"

After a little while, Rune managed a weak chuckle. "Oh. Is that so. Hmm." He sighed, and cradled his face in his free hand. "Shit, he really did it?"

Rath, who didn't think he'd ever heard Rune swear before, felt very solemn. "He couldn't resist me," he said, but the humor was dry.

"Oh. Well... Is he okay?"

Rath choked on air. "Gee, I love you too."

Rune grimaced. "Sorry. I was just thinking, I've heard what it's like after Turning someone, how hard it is to keep from doing it again or going on a killing spree. I hope you never have to go through that... And also," he added, softer, "he must be feeling pretty bad about it, don't you think?"

Rath rolled his eyes. Well, he really shouldn't have been expecting to get much sympathy from someone who was also immortal, should he have...? "Oh, he'll be fine," he said confidently. "He knows he only did what he had to. Really... I'm the one who should feel guilty, you know...?"

"Oh." Rune smiled. "That's good. Between the two of you, you should work it out..."

"No shit," Rath agreed, though secretly he was rather comforted to know that someone else thought so too. "But, hey—so now you know, but more importantly... are you going to get my stuff or not?"

"...would you like me to keep the cops away from your house, or not?"

"_Please?_"

**

* * *

**

During the next few days, Kharl stayed by Rath's side through his Changes, which the boy frankly found more comforting than he would care to say. Entirely aside from the fact that he didn't think he could possibly have handled it without Kharl's presence, it also made him hopeful—if a bit embarrassed—to see how the older vampire handled his own transformations with near-perfect composure.

On the fourth night, as Rath was still hastily gulping down his second or third cup of blood, Kharl observed him thoughtfully. "You know, you're really handling this a lot better all ready."

"You think so?"

"Yes, definitely..." Kharl smiled. "What would you like to learn tonight?"

"To fly," Rath answered, almost before Kharl was done speaking.

"Oh, of course. I'm beginning to wonder why I ask. I suppose you always _have_ been obnoxiously precocious..."

Rath snuck a glance at him. "Is that like a 'yes'?"

"Heh. Well, I guess you need to learn sometime soon-" Rath nodded eagerly, and Kharl rolled his eyes, "-have another drink, then, and let's go."

Soon in to his stay, Rath had discovered that Kharl was obviously an outdoorsy sort of person who was just as comfortable in his yard as he was in his house. That was to say, it was obvious that he spent a lot of time there: it contained a rusty grill; a collection of shovels, rakes, and pick-axes; a partially inflated swimming pool; a variety of lawn furniture; concrete blocks; a collapsed shed; a messy garden—and so on. It did _not_ contain a lawn mower, but hardly any grass managed to grow in between all the junk anyway.

Rath allowed himself a moment to just gape—though this wasn't the first time he'd seen it, he still found it a bit awe-inspiring. "Have you ever been forced to move just to escape your own mess...?"

"What a ridiculous thing to ask. Of course I have. And like you can talk, anyway..."

"Oh, I don't know—this is really a pretty humbling experience for me. I've realized that I still have a lot to learn about the fine art of being a slob..." Rath grinned. "But anyway, how should I start?"

"...being dropped from a great height might teach you a thing or two..." Rath choked back a laugh, and Kharl had to grin too. "Hey, you think I'm joking? It _might_ work, and it's not like you can actually die... But I suppose we should probably try out some less potentially painful possibilities first."

"How considerate."

"I try." Kharl seemed to grow more serious then, however. "Of course, it's not _quite_ as simple as just flapping your wings around. Your wingspan isn't much greater than an eagle's—but not only is your body larger; your bone structure is much heavier. Naturally there is some magic involved, but it's purely instinctive. You already have everything you need; you just need to find it..." He smiled, and gestured up. "Look. I suppose they're not nearly as impressive when they're dimmed by the city's light pollution—but even as a human, I'm sure you had the desire to reach them. It was just an ordinary human who first set foot on the moon, after all."

Rath stared up. "Sure, they're pretty," he agreed, and flapped his wings a little. "These're heavy," he added doubtfully.

"Even the stars aren't enough motivation for you?" Kharl laughed, and with a few lazy flaps rose a few feet above the ground. "I think you're just doubting yourself... Haven't you ever had a dream about flying? I want you to remember what that felt like, but I don't want you to _think_ too hard about it. It's just like jumping from some high place—the more you think about it, the harder it gets."

Rath watched as Kharl rose in a slow spiral to the tops of the two trees in his yard. He was ignoring him now, just waiting for him to figure it out himself; some help _that_ was. Well...

Of _course_ he'd had dreams about flying. He figured pretty much everybody had. It'd been a while, though. He scrunched his eyes shut, and recalled with difficulty a feeling of weightlessness and moving with the wind-

"Open your eyes," Kharl scolded, though he sounded amused.

"Hey, shut up, I think it-" Rath started, and then stopped abruptly. For just a moment he was hovering perhaps four feet off the ground—but then he was returning to the ground in a most undignified and painful fashion. Laughter floated down to him.

"That's a great start; don't give up now," Kharl cajoled, as Rath sat and glowered upward. "Come on. As soon as you master this, I'll teach you how to hide in the shadows—and then I can take you dancing."

Rath grinned a little at that. "Ballroom dancing, probably," he accused, but stood anyway. He didn't want to keep Kharl waiting, after all—and he wasn't too happy about the man all of a sudden being better than him at everything, either. He breathed in, closed his eyes for just a moment, and finally flew.

It really was just like his dreams; as soon as his feet left the ground, he seemed to weigh nothing. His wings already seemed to know how to angle to catch the wind, and he made it up to where Kharl was without hardly having to think about it—he was overcome with laughter by the time he got there, and grabbed on to the older vampire's hands for fear of losing his concentration.

Kharl smiled fondly at him. "I personally can't imagine how you made it through the first seventeen years of your life," he commented. "Can you?"

"No way... It feels like I could just be blown away." Rath grinned hugely. "And the view is great!"

Kharl glanced down at their clasped hands, and shook his head in wry humor. "You know, I think I must still be affected from Turning you." Rath looked sharply over at him. "I thought I was getting..." Whatever else he had had to say, however, faded into an absent-minded mumble, as his mouth became otherwise occupied.

"Rath..."

"Hnn..."

"...you're sinking."

Rath let out a terrified yelp and managed to latch on to the other man's arm just in time. In a display of inhuman ease, Kharl gathered him up bridal style, and began to lower them both back to the earth in a more controlled fashion.

"Sorry; my fault," he said, but the mischievous glint in his eyes did not go unnoticed. Rath blushed, which made him even more annoyed. "Perhaps we should practice this for a few nights, all the same—but this is an excellent start."

"Okay..." Rath eyed the ground—which was now about four or five feet below him. He squirmed a bit, and glared. "Put me _down_!"

Kharl chuckled amiably. "Oh, right, sorry," he said, and dumped the boy unceremoniously into the dirt.

"You _fuc_-"

Tragically, Rath was unable to finish his sentence, what with Kharl kneeling over him and kissing him. He also wondered if perhaps Kharl hadn't quite recovered yet... but then he wondered if maybe the man was just proud of him. He decided that, if the latter was the case, he might as well let him show his appreciation.

**

* * *

**

When Kharl got home from tutoring several days later, he immediately sensed that Rath was not in the house. For some reason he found that this didn't bother him particularly; in fact, he just went in to his bedroom (though actually it did not have a bed) and changed in to some more comfortable clothes. When he went out to the kitchen to get a drink, he looked out the window to find Rath lounging on the back porch.

'Lounging' was definitely the appropriate word, too; he lay on his back across the length of a picnic table bench, and had draped an arm over his eyes to protect them from the late afternoon sun. "This is some of the best weather we've had so far this year, isn't it?" Kharl commented from the doorway, and Rath smiled to show he was awake, so the older man walked over to him.

"Welcome home," he mumbled. Kharl smiled too, and sat down across the table.

"Rune would _not_ be happy," he said. Rath scoffed.

"Of course he would be. Rune is always happiest when he's yelling at someone." While Kharl was considering that Rath might actually believe this, and how much that would explain about the dynamics of their friendship, Rath stretched and sat up to fix him with bleary eyes. "Anyway, you're just lucky I stayed in the yard, when it's nearly eighty out. How was the brat?"

Kharl rolled his eyes. "She's twelve years old and she doesn't like me very much. The usual."

"You should tell her you're a kidnapper hiding from the police; that'd put her back in line."

"Yes, but then Rune would be mad at _me_. Twelve year olds are far less frightening, thank you."

Rath grinned. "Then you should just tell her you're queer. You could be great friends; you could talk about dresses and makeup-"

"-and disrespectful boyfriends-"

"..._nnnh_."

"Very mature; quite the winning argument."

The conversation petered out after that, so Rath lay his head down on his arms on the tabletop; Kharl took this as an invitation to play with his hair. The sun was warm on his back, and he found it quite shocking to realize that—had it not been for that brief and silly exchange—he might have been genuinely irritated over his young student...

"What would you like to do tonight?"

"Well, I _want_ to go somewhere..."

"Alright."

Rath glanced up at him. "What? Really?"

Kharl beamed. "Well, I don't want you to start climbing the walls." He squinted over Rath's head. "But I think we need to go back in for just a little while; the sun is setting."

Only the pain of his Change could temporarily dampen his excitement—but it had already returned several times over by the time Kharl lead him out to the back yard. "Is it really safe to fly out of here?" he asked hopefully; Kharl chuckled.

"Of course. We just have to go really high, really fast-" he took Rath's hand in his own, "-don't fall behind." Rath merely grinned.

Kharl had not yet let him fly higher than the tree in his back yard, so the sight of the city lights rather took Rath's breath away. Kharl smiled at his awed look. "I know they're beautiful," he called over the strong wind that blew relentlessly up where they were, "but they're not for you. Come on..."

The amazing sight only served to increase Rath's disappointment at the back alley door Kharl eventually lead them to; the black-haired boy gaped openly. The door was half blocked with the big green kind of garbage bin, and a small gray sign announced it as 'UnderCover' in plain white letters - a far cry from the neon lights on the main street. It looked for all the world like some place's back door, but when Kharl opened it, it became apparent that it was not.

It wasn't a particularly fashionable night club—you could see, for one thing—but there was rock music playing, and the small dance floor was comfortably packed. The other major difference that set it apart from other clubs, of course, was that every person there, patron or staff, bore jet wings. Kharl set a course for the bar and Rath followed, but halfway there they were stopped by someone calling Kharl's name. Rath watched with guarded interest as Kharl beamed at the young girl who sauntered over. She was decked out in an elaborate cybergoth outfit in neon colors, and looked about seven years too young to be in a bar of any type...

"Lim!" Kharl said with obvious affection. "I didn't know you were in Japan."

She smirked. "With the uproar you've been causing, how could I stay away? I had to find out if it was really true. I'm glad I came, too—guess who I have now!"

"Who?" Kharl asked, clearly more used to the girl's eccentricities than Rath was.

"Your witch!" Kharl arched an eyebrow at that. "Well, he's got some kind of past—when I met him, he said he'd never been to one of these places before—he doesn't really like us too much. But I'll get him."

"Excuse me?" Rath managed to get in, a bit red in the face. "_His _witch...?"

"Well, I did discover him," Kharl assured him. Lim clapped her hands together excitedly.

"Shit!" she exclaimed. "Is this that boy? The one you Turned, really? I hear Tetheus had a _fit_... He's the first one anyone's Turned in a century, you know."

Kharl rolled his eyes. "So they keep telling me..."

Lim beamed. "Well, hey - 'Fakcy! Lord Kharl's here, and guess who he brought!"

After a moment, a male vampire, equally shocking in his similarly child-like appearance, disentangled himself from the crowd. As soon as he saw Kharl, he scowled. "Bastard!" he greeted loudly. "You could've at least written-" Kharl bowed his head in an ironic parody of shame, and the boy bared needle-sharp teeth—it took Rath a moment to realize that the expression was a grin. "Gawd, you're as stupid as ever, huh? Bringing him here already—they say you just did him a week ago!"

Rath grimaced to himself at the way the innuendo of the phrase made his cheeks color—though he was startled to see that Kharl's cheeks looked a little pink too... The elder vampire managed to keep his composure, however, grinning dryly back. "It's nice to see you again, Garfakcy. It's impossible to keep anything low-key around here, isn't it?"

Garfakcy nodded matter-of-factly, and then looked Rath up and down in a way that made him want to squirm, though he glowered instead. The boy smirked evilly at him, and glanced back at Kharl. "So—you two are getting along alright? 'Cus he seems pretty old for your tastes..." He and Lim snickered together, and Rath blanched. That earlier remark—the double meaning _had _been purely imagined, right...? He glanced at Kharl for confirmation, and found him squinting awkwardly at the ceiling.

"Ah-" Kharl cleared his throat, and turned his attention back to the two children. "You two," he said sternly, "are imps. Be gone from my sight. Don't worry, we'll probably be back before the end of the week..." Still sniggering—'Fakcy stuck his tongue out, and Lim sneered—the two melted back into the throng. Kharl took them the rest of the way to the bar before allowing himself to be engaged in any further conversation, though the longer Rath festered the more questions he thought up.

He turned to the older man as soon as they'd gotten seated, mouth open, but then the damn bastard had the nerve to _smile _at him... Rath shut his mouth, sighed in disgust, and settled for: "How old are those two, really? How long have you known them?"

Kharl studied a light fixture in deep thought. "Hmm... 'Fakcy is from sometime in the Medieval Era, I wouldn't be able to remember the exact date to save my life but maybe he could... Lim Kaanna is a lot younger—she was one of the last vampires ever Turned." He smiled a little, and fell to examining the peculiar pattern of stains on the bar instead. "In each case, I've known them for as long," he admitted. Rath made the connection almost instantly, and glared black death to mask the sickness in his stomach.

No, _damn _him—he couldn't help it—he was _inviting _this conversation. 'There goes this evening,' he mused, even as he blurted out: "So you Turned them, then?"

Kharl merely shrugged. "Guilty as charged," he said easily. Drinks were set in front of them, and the man sipped his demurely while Rath secretly seethed. Unvoiced accusations raced through his head like squirrels, stopping only long enough to bury seeds of deceit... He was so caught up in the merry-go-round in his mind that he didn't notice Kharl studying him, until the elder vampire hummed rather loudly to himself.

"Ah, yes, how very astute of you—they _were _my lovers. That was what you were thinking, right?"

Rath sputtered and died, and then gave up and just stared coldly, waiting for an explanation. Kharl sighed, and folded his hands primly in his lap, looking like some morbid parody of his day job. "Now, Rath, don't be childish. I warned you. You know, you couldn't stay a virgin for twenty years—I've been around for millennia... And anyway, it's been hundreds of years since Lim—twice as long since 'Fakcy-"

Rath cut him off with a growl, and turned sharply to glower into his drink. "Oh, just shut up," he snapped. Kharl arched an eyebrow.

"_Honestly, _now—you're a smart boy—don't tell me you didn't see this coming." He gestured in a vaguely all-encompassing fashion. "Anyway, millennia, Rath. You're going to get to meet a lot more of them..."

Rath barred his fangs. "You don't listen very well," he commented, but without any strong malice. "It's just-" He looked up, frowned doubtfully, opened his mouth, shut it and looked away again. "They... You _really _don't... love them anymore?"

"Of course not," Kharl assured him firmly. "Most of us get along alright, but you have to understand, they don't even have the passion to hate me for Turning them anymore..."

"That's the problem!" he exploded, gaining one or two sideways looks. He breathed out and said, more quietly, "I mean—they're proof. That this... what we..." His eyes burned, as if daring Kharl to ask him to elaborate. Kharl just chuckled.

"Ah... that sounds awfully familiar—except that I do believe it was _me _arguing that side, last time..." He settled back, and smiled soothingly. "Well, you're here now; you'd probably prefer the vampires' point of view. You're really going to have to let go of those clumsy mortal ideals. Humans—for reproduction's sake—have gotten it into their heads, bless them, that the only successful relationship is one that lasts a lifetime. If something goes wrong and the relationship fails, they tend to discount all the happy memories they made along the way. And when you have so few memories..." He shook his head at his inability to comprehend. "It's all a bit sad, really."

"Easy for you to say," Rath grumbled.

Kharl smirked. "Again, I _warned _you." Rath suddenly downed the rest of his drink; when his hands returned to the table, Kharl covered the nearest one with one of his. Rath stared at it, but still eluded eye contact. "Anyway," he said softly, "now that there's no talking you out of it, you should know that it's not quite as bad as I made it out. Not always. The things you'll see—the people you'll meet—with this very hand, I've shaken hands with George Washington. Just try to imagine me in a powdered wig." Rath snorted, and finally looked at him out of surprise; he grinned. "Neither could I, don't worry." Rath laughed a little and shook his head; Kharl beamed suddenly. "Come—dance with me."

Rath scoffed. "To this old song? Culture move too fast for you guys?"

"We prefer to savor things," Kharl allowed. "It's not sappy, I promise."

Rath frowned a little. "Well—what would they say-?"

Kharl waved that remark off nonchalantly. "My dear, must I remind you again that these people have seen just about everything? Done just about everything, too, most of them..."

Rath grimaced as he was suddenly assaulted by unwelcome mental images; Kharl seized his moment of distraction and grabbed his hand and hauled him to his feet. Rath choked out a weak protest as he was half-dragged to the dance floor, but the words died when he got a proper look at it for the first time. So many mismatched couples... so many different dances... When they reached it, Kharl whirled to face him, hanging on to the hand he had grabbed and settling his other hand on Rath's shoulder. The black-haired boy felt painfully awkward for a moment or two—he was aware of people staring, for one thing. He had gathered by now that Kharl was fairly well-known—and it was such an old-fashioned way of dancing... He gradually loosened up, though, as he found his place in the rhythm, and realized that he couldn't actually see Kharl dancing any other way anyway.

"You lied," he said quietly. "It is sappy."

Kharl scoffed. "Oh—by your standards, I suppose. It doesn't even _touch _on self-mutilation or gang killings..."

Rath willed the audience into the background as he allowed his head to rest on the taller man's chest, and grinned lazily. "Pedophile," he accused.

"It was only a phase," Kharl assured him.

The conversation petered out after that, fading into softness. It should have felt really weird, Rath thought, two guys dancing with each other, but Kharl was such a lunatic to begin with that it actually seemed pretty natural... And the way he smiled down at him, so lovingly; he was _almost _certain that it was actually genuine for once... At the end of the song, he was struck with a powerful longing for Kharl to kiss him, 'public display' be damned, but he didn't and so they danced a few more songs. They all blended together after a time, just a small spell that somehow kept their closeness simple and affectionate—except at the pauses between, when Rath was certain that the urge got stronger every time.

After some indeterminable time, they were finally forced to submit to the vampiric version of dehydration, returning to the bar. "You exhaust me, my dear," Kharl informed him, drinking deeply. "It must be past one..." Rath's brows furrowed, barely perceptible—not so indeterminable for some people, then...? But then Kharl took his hand once again, and the red tinge around the edges of his irises made Rath's heart irrationally skip a beat. "Have you had enough clubbing for one night?" he murmured.

"Oh... yes," Rath breathed. Kharl sneered in a roguish and, Rath thought, altogether charming sort of way, and led the way to the door.

When they stepped back into the night, skirting around the dumpster, Rath was just wishing dreamily that they didn't have to fly all the way home, that Kharl would just start kissing him right here—or maybe he could get up the courage himself, for once?—when the smell hit him. It stunned him, floored him, repulsed him at the same time it called to him, haunting. Behind him, Kharl stiffened and redoubled his hold on his hand, and he only realized the purpose of the firmer grip when he suddenly found that he'd already taken two steps forward. He looked back at the older man over his shoulder, pupils dilated in agony; Kharl's lips were thinned to a stern line.

"_No_," he said, firmly enough to break the boy partway out of his daze. Kharl sniffed, and wrinkled his nose. "It's no threat-" he gestured curtly at the heap of limbs in ill-fitting clothing on the other side of the alley, "-it's just extremely inebriated." He frowned at the boy; Rath had started to tremble slightly. "Normally I would warn the barkeep... but perhaps we'll just leave it for someone else to clean up. The lesser of two evils—let's go." He half-pulled Rath into the air, and didn't let go of his hand until they were nearing the outskirts of the suburbs.

On landing silently in their backyard, Rath immediately fell into Kharl's arms. "Shit," he complained. "I was really going to-" He sounded merely pissed, but he was still shaking; Kharl, feeling more like a parent comforting his child than anything else, wordlessly kissed the top of his head and guided him inside.

_It's not quite as bad as I made it out. Not _alwaysRath gave one last violent shudder, and forced himself to relax. As soon as they stepped through the door, he stopped and, when Kharl looked back at the tug on his hand, caught the older man's lips with his. The coppery taste filled his world, and he clung desperately to the front of Kharl's shirt.

"Ah," Kharl said in a breathy sigh as they pulled apart, and licked his lips. Rath's eyes were ravenous, threatening to swallow him whole. Once upon a time he'd been a seventeen-year-old boy; what had happened? He was some kind of ancient, all-powerful demon, surely... Kharl swooped his head down to kiss the boy's neck, trailing fangs feather-light and ghosting breath over his pulse point and closely observing the way Rath squirmed against the fingers on his hips.

Rath tipped his head obligingly back, eyes closed, as Kharl pressed him up against the hallway wall. Because after all, as long as they had each other, all the pain didn't matter. As long as they had each other, it didn't matter that he wasn't the first one. As long as they had each other, it didn't matter if it wasn't meant to last forever... his fingers tightened possessively in Kharl's hair as the man bent lower to nip at his collarbone—how had his shirt come open, anyway...?

Somewhere in the increasingly small portion of his mind that was still caught up in thoughts less interesting than the scent and warmth of Rath's body, Kharl wondered if it was really a good idea to be doing this right now—if they shouldn't talk about what he'd felt... But, he reasoned, perhaps Rath needed this, to ground him and to remind him of who he was. And, if it came to that, it could be that _he_ needed it too, because the guilt that had been lingering in him over the past week was fraying the edges of his consciousness...

Rath's fingers slipped through his hair down his neck, sliding under his collar to caress his back; his claw-like nails dug sharply down as Kharl bit his nipple lightly, and Kharl hummed in pleasure. "Mmm... hurry," Rath moaned softly.

"Patience is a virtue," Kharl intoned in a whisper into his shoulder; the black-haired boy rolled his eyes.

"Been patient... all fucking night..." he gasped, as Kharl's fingers began to lazily undue his pants.

"Such a dirty mouth," Kharl chided, kissing him fondly, and then he sank to his knees before him. Rath caught one glimpse of a witty smirk, before Kharl's mouth opened and took him in.

Rath's head pitched back against the wall as he was rendered completely incapable of speaking, or screaming, or anything. He could feel the hard lengths of Kharl's fangs coming part-way down on either side of him, the points perilously close to piercing the hyper-sensitive skin; the sense of danger only served to increase the feeling that the bottom of his stomach had just dropped out. He grasped Kharl's hair with trembling hands, letting out a strangled little 'uhn!' as he began to move his mouth and cursing the beautiful man for being so obscenely _perfect_ .

Kharl massaged Rath's base with one hand and used the other to hold his hips steady, partially to keep from being choked and partially to keep from touching himself. He'd been wanting to do this all week, and certainly was not disappointed. The taste, and the way Rath buckled and clung to him... _and all that blood _... coursing through his mouth, just the thickness of skin away, it... would be so easy to... He shivered, and stood regretfully.

"Sorry," he murmured into Rath's neck. "Couldn't..." Rath gave a tormented little whimper, and he chuckled heatedly. "I want you..."

"Then hurry," Rath repeated, "damn tease."

Kharl undid his pants with difficulty - Rath's hand clenched and unclenched on his sleeve, and his own hands trembled convulsively. Finally he freed himself of the offending garment; Rath couldn't seem to wait any longer, but pulled him close and began to slide himself onto Kharl's length without any preparation. His breathing grew heavy and ragged, and when he was done he rested his head against the wall for a moment, but he recovered quickly as Kharl showered little kisses across his neck, face, and mouth.

"God," he muttered shakily, and Kharl took this as his invitation to move. Rath hooked one thin leg around his waist and Kharl, taking the hint, gripped his thighs securely; Rath brought his other leg up as well, and arched his back in pleasurable agony as the new angle allowed the older man to go deeper.

It didn't seem to take too long after that, though it was no less intense. The boy weakly traced the contours of Kharl's face, memorizing every sharp and elegant curve, and as his hands glided down his neck to clutch weakly at his shoulders, Kharl leaned in and kissed him roughly. The sight of Rath's flushed lips was intoxicating, and when the young vampire jolted and buried his face in Kharl's neck, clenching around him, he couldn't help but fall headfirst over the edge. A moment later Rath sunk his fangs deep into Kharl's neck as he found his own release; Kharl shuddered.

As the aftershocks gradually faded away, Rath withdrew his fangs carefully and rested his head against the wall away, eyes closed and breathing hard. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"You're young," Kharl muttered affectionately, and lapped at a stray trickle of blood at the corner of Rath's mouth as they sank slowly to the floor. "I'm actually very masochistic, anyway." Rath laughed weakly.

They were quiet for a little while, half-clothed and twined comfortably together on the floor. Rath very tendered licked the blood away from the wound he'd made, and Kharl petted his hair in a contented fashion. Eventually Kharl said with lazy irony: "So I suppose, all in all, you would rate this day as a success?"

"Definitely," Rath purred sleepily.

"In spite of the old drunk? And Lim and Garfakcy?"

"Oh _please_."

Kharl smiled, and buried his face in sweet-smelling black hair. "I'm glad. And you know... I don't _want_ this to ever end. Never think that."

Rath tightened his grip around him reassuringly, or was it possessively? "Of course not."

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**AN: **Aw, wasn't that cute:) And... really, really... long... (sweats) By the way, if it seemed disjointed to you, here's the spiel I gave Leeayre: Part of this chapter was written about a year ago... part of it was written more like half a year ago (I probably wrote the lemon around October or November, as I seem to recall that I was supposed to be working on my NaNoWriMo novel at the time xD)... and parts of it were written this month. Also, scene five was originally going to be scene four, and parts of scene four comes almost word for word from scene five from back when it was still going to be scene four. _Also_, in one case I had to splice together stuff from this month with stuff from last year into one scene, and I'm not really sure how well that went... (heart) And if your heads are still attached to your shoulders after all that, I can't wait to read your reviews! (Only two more chapters to go!)


	14. Tempt

**AN:** Oh. My. God. o.o Could it be? A-a update? (swoons) Heh... Hey, at least this one was slightly faster than the last one—a month and five days; yeah! (sweats) But! OMG! You are _lucky_ I took my time, really you are, because I think the one really important scene in this chapter is so so much better than it was before. (presents Leeayre with chocolates and designer jewelry and canaries in gilded cages—and _cocoa_, even) One of these days I'll figure out how to do this whole drama thing... But this time I can actually say with a decent level of certainty that the next (last!) chapter won't take nearly as long to come out. For one thing, I'm done with high school now—not officially graduated yet but done with all my courses, strange, I know... (happy dance) More importantly, though, there probably isn't really anything that needs to be changed in 15. I'm going to reread it and think about it, but... (flails) Well, if it's not one-hundred-percent satisfactory, that's what the sequel is for! (snort) _Not_ to be confused with the prequel; it sounds like I'm really going to do both now. xD

Sarehptar: Hee—as Leeayre says, we passed the Sarehptar Test! Go us! Though I think you'll see more of her work in a certain scene in this chapter; she more or less had me rewrite it twice xD (Though in the end I came up with one idea of significance, at least, _preen_). lawls, I'm glad you liked Gar-chan's little cameo. (whisper) He'll have a bigger part in the prequel... he'll be like the only thing giving it comic relief, (sweats). Don't know about the sequel—but that'll have the other officers—okay, I haven't thought about Cernozora xD—so that makes up for it a bit, right? Kharl/Kai-stern? Hee, I read one of those once, it was very lovely but it never got anywhere T-T You should definitely write an epic about them ;) Or did you mean an even crackier pairing...? (scared o.o) Hee—actually, the flying scene was one that Leeayre suggested. The patio bit was also added after we started reworking the chapter, but, heh, actually I had started writing it before I worked up the courage to try an actual flying scene, and by then it had too many good lines to get rid of, lol... I'm glad you liked them both :) I actually did have a _lot_ of trouble figuring out how to do the flying scene at first, but I guess I just kept obsessing over it until I found something I liked. I didn't think I could do it, seriously; I now know exactly what you mean by '...people, flying...' o.o Peter Pan! (rofl) Yes, it was very cutesy, but I just couldn't help it... (wipes sweat from brow) Also, I'm relieved you like the club scene... since that was the oldest part of the chapter, I believe. Gosh, this chapter seems so neat in comparison, only one part underwent major surgery xD Hmm... you know, I just realized that at this point I have no plans to write Lim's story. I'm pretty sure she meets Kharl sometime shortly after where the prequel will end... o.o A sequel to the prequel? (rofl) Oh god, where does it end...? (looks around ninja-like) And, in closing, I would just like to say... plot? What plot? Much loves--

Turtle Kid: Hee. This one came out faster, I tell you! xD And I'm glad you didn't notice any inconsistencies. lol, I don't even _know_ how many series I'm working on right now. Some of them are complete, some of them are in progress, some of them I only intend to get if there's nothing better available on bookmooch...

Chizz-muffinChik: Aw I'm glad you liked it :) I'm sorry it took so long—hee, but, you wouldn't have gotten the conversation with Rune if I hadn't had it beta'd, among other things xD I'm also sorry there was another long delay, but hopefully it was worth it ;)

Dark Angel Rath: Yay, I'm glad you liked it! lol, don't worry, I don't do anything too terrible to Kharl and Rath's relationship (I love them too much xD)... at least, in this story. Maybe I should do something terrible to them in the sequel. (cackles) But you'll find out exactly how it ends in the next chapter in any case ;)

Ronin-N-Gang: lol, yes, Kharl was supposed to be bad at cooking in the manga... somehow that slipped my mind somewhere in the middle of this story xD But! I was talking with my beta about it, and it seems like it would make sense for Garfakcy to have taught him how to cook at least enough to fend for himself sometime during their relationship. (I wonder what he did before that...?) On the other hand, I don't know if the garden could have been Garfakcy's (unless Garfakcy still visits Kharl every once in a while and decided to make a garden once xD); they were together a looong time ago. Kharl's had at least a couple relationships in between Garfakcy and Rath... (has probably thought way too much about this)... but on the other hand, Garfakcy could have gotten Kharl interested in gardening—but, Kharl being Kharl, he made one and then never kept it up. (nods) I definitely think way too much about all this xD (claps) Hee, I'm glad you like the lemon scene. Better than the last one, even though it's shorter—yay :) I guess I'm getting better, lol... Hmm, I don't know if Garfakcy still harbors any feelings for Kharl or not ;) I'll have to play around with that in the prequel (it'll be set way before this story, but still after the time Kharl was with Garfakcy)... And finally, I am both awed and sympathetic that you were actually able to understand my rant about Frankinchapter xD

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**Chapter Fourteen:** Tempt

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It was only over the next week or two that Rath came to truly appreciate the full implications of Kharl's breach of high vampiric law. Though they waited only a few days before their next outing, it was clear that every one of UnderCover's patrons already knew that the rumors had been confirmed. Throughout the night they were interrupted by everyone from random club-goers who just wanted a good gawk to irate Council members; they left after only a couple hours, resolving to spend their evenings in for a while until things calmed down at least a little.

Their decision didn't do them much good, however, as the next day they received a letter informing them, in the utmost of flowery language, that the Council Head would be paying them a visit that evening.

"Oh, stop worrying," Kharl said flippantly, for Rath had just thrown himself down on the couch in an attitude of deep despair. "I've told you before, Tetheus is an old friend of mine; we go back _centuries_."

Rath lifted his head enough to glower. "_Please_ don't tell me he's another of your ex's?" Kharl held out his hands in a guilty-as-charged gesture, and the glower developed into a full-fledged glare. "Well, he wasn't a good enough friend to keep you from getting almost killed," Rath snapped, and turned his head to face the couch back.

"Please don't be too hard on him," Kharl said, sounding oddly sad. "He did everything he could, but he wasn't the Head at that time. _I_ was, actually, but since I was the one on trial, his siblings took over." Rath looked at him again out of curiosity, and he smiled a little. "Thankfully, they're dead now. Tetheus is the younger brother of the twins Shydeman and Shyrendora, you see."

Rath choked. "You mean—the ones who-?" Kharl nodded cheerfully, and Rath blanched as his mind ran laps. "You're telling me you did the nasty with _their_ brother—but then, how did they...? Oh, please, _God_, no-"

Kharl winced, and his smile turned a touch awkward. "Ah. Well, yes."

Rath stared owlishly at him for a moment or two, and then buried his face in a pillow. "I'm going to suffocate myself now, don't try to stop me," he commanded, very muffled.

"Uh... You can't, you know."

"I can try if I want to!"

Kharl squinted out the window, and then beamed at Rath's prone form. With languid grace, he draped himself on top of the boy, and proceeded to trail lazy and sloppy kisses across the back of his neck. Rath squirmed, and finally lifted his head to say: "Tickles. And you're crushing me, damn it."

"But I thought you _wanted_ to suffocate," Kharl teased, but propped himself up on his elbows nevertheless.

"I hate you," Rath mumbled.

Kharl dipped his face down to nuzzle Rath's hair. "No you don't."

"I can't _believe_ you... were with _them_. They wanted to kill you!"

Kharl shrugged. "Yes. If it's any consolation, I can't really believe I was ever 'with' them, either." He stood then, and glanced out the window again. "I'm going to pour us some drinks. The sun's setting." As he headed to the kitchen, he saw from the corner of his eye Rath sitting up, hands clenched rather tightly in his lap.

Perhaps half an hour later, as they were still recuperating, Kharl heard a familiar, business-like knocking at the door. One glance at Rath's scowling face assured him that it would be best if he answered it, and he hurriedly took himself off to the entryway. He glanced through the peephole as a matter of precaution, but he was already undoing the latch, and a second later he flung the door open with a brilliant smile. "Tetheus, my friend! Come in, come in, out of the cold, before someone sees you—come to the living room, I have drinks—so good to see you again-"

"Good evening to you, too," Tetheus said blandly, but allowed himself to be directed to the living room.

Once a chair had been cleared off and Tetheus had been seated, he and Rath regarded each other in stony silence for some moments. "So. You're the boy," Tetheus finally said, looking him up and down critically.

"'Fraid so," Rath said, but Kharl was relieved that it wasn't something more snarky. In fact, he thought, the boy seemed a little wary, as if he were perhaps remembering Shyrendora's iron grip lifting him off the floor by his face...

"And it's true that you, ah, persuaded Lord Kharl to Turn you?" he asked.

Rath fingered his left wrist with a small, proud grin. "You bet."

Tetheus gave him one last faintly frowning look, before turning his attention to Kharl. "And I believe I am also right in thinking that you two had a very close relationship prior to the incident, correct?" Kharl's slight smirk at the words 'very close' seemed to be enough of an answer for him; he sighed. "Very well, then..." He managed a wry smile. "You really knew what you were doing, didn't you? If anyone else was the Head, you would be sentenced to death all over again." Kharl smiled genteelly. "However, I suppose I can make a case for you. Protecting a loved one... not that it's a very _good_ case, mind you, but about the best one there ever is, I suppose..." He threw Rath a rather belittling glance then, as if to remind him that, immortals or not, he was still a teenager in the presence of adults. "I should be able to make it work out for you—provided that the boy keeps himself under control."

"I _am_ sitting right here, you know," Rath said loudly. Kharl grimaced.

"Now, now," he said soothingly, "no reason to be so unfriendly. I assure you, Tetheus, that Rath is rarely out of my sight, and then only during the day. Furthermore, even if he does have some of the irresponsibility of youth in him, I believe that he is a very _smart_ boy; he would never knowingly put a human life in danger."

Tetheus looked coldly over Rath's dyed hair, pierced ears, and ICP t-shirt. "You're sure of that? Some vampires have been known to abuse their power—even very smart ones, and _especially _irresponsible, young ones. _Furthermore_, this boy is a known murderer-"

Rath stood up with shocking suddenness, wings spread to their fullest width. "How _dare_ you," he hissed. "How dare you talk like you know me! You were just as _young _as me once; are you so fucking old that you can't remember what it was like anymore? Or are you jealous-"

Tetheus flinched as if struck, but looked like he might retaliate—possibly with more than words—but then Kharl stood too. He placed a warning hand on Rath's shoulder, and at the same time pinned Tetheus in place with a look. "I think that's enough for now, don't you?" he said softly. "I promise you that I will do my best to help this boy make it through these trying first months successfully. Hopefully you will eventually see the wisdom of my decision, but for now I think it might be best if you were to leave."

The two older vampires locked eyes for another moment, but then the dark one stood and gave the other a shallow, cool smile. "Quite right," he said. "Good evening..."

It was only after they heard the door click shut that Rath's wings relaxed around him. He was still glaring deeply, however. "Charming," he commented waspishly. Kharl rubbed his back in a calming gesture, and was rather relieved that the boy actually let him.

"That could have gone better," he eventually said, sighing. "Of course I don't blame you... I can't really hold it against Tetheus either, though..."

Rath sat down in a huff. "Oh, really? Whose fault was it, then?"

Kharl plopped down next to him with a shrug. "Shydeman's and Shyrendora's?" he suggested. He examined his fingernails thoughtfully. "Tetheus... didn't have a very pleasant youth, all in all. He became, ah, rather well-acquainted with vampires abusing their powers in ingeniously cruel ways... And I swear to you, I would never have Turned those two _demons_ if I'd know what they were capable of." He became suddenly vehement as he said this, but when Rath looked up at him in surprise, he wouldn't meet his eyes. "Of course," he admitted at no more than a whisper, almost as if speaking against his will, "I sometimes wonder if … if being Turned made them that way... I suppose there's no way to know..." He sighed again, and summoned a small smile. "Of course, cold though he can be, Tetheus harbors none of his elder siblings' sadistic traits. I was able to salvage my friendship with him to an extent, but it seems that, to this day, my initial relationship with Shydeman and Shyrendora has caused him to somewhat, er, doubt my judgment in certain matters..."

Rath stared, trying to remember if he'd ever heard Kharl stammer in their entire acquaintance. "That's crap," he finally said, with conviction. "If they were crazy after you made them vampires, they were crazy before. They must've just wanted the power, and I'm sure they were perfectly fine with hiding who they really were to get it... And anyway," he added, more softly, "_you_ don't 'doubt your judgment', do you? You made a mistake. So what?" He smirked. "Just because you're an old geezer doesn't mean you're going to be perfect all the time."

Kharl ogled dramatically at him. "Me—an old geezer—_you_-"

Eventually, after Kharl had pinned Rath to the couch and kissed him enough times to consider him sufficiently punished, he came up for air to look sternly down at the boy. "Though I have to admit, Tetheus did manage to make a good point, between snide remarks. People seem to be making rather a big deal out of this..." He gave Rath a brooding look. "It's not as if anything I could say would help, if you _did_ feel the craving. So maybe… it would be best if you continued to stay in the house for a while longer, after all. I know it must be boring, but just to be safe..."

Rath glowered mildly. "Oh, what? You agree with him—I might do something 'irresponsible'?"

Kharl shrugged as he sat up properly again; Rath shook out his rumple feathers. "No, I don't think you would ever do something that would put the lives of others in danger—on purpose—but accidents do happen," he said. "Even the most _responsible _people can lose track of time..."

"You really think I'm that stupid?" Rath grumbled. Kharl glanced sideways at him.

"I've seen your grade cards; do I really have to answer that? Anyway, why does it bother you so much all of a sudden? I didn't think there was anywhere you wanted to go."

"Well, you know… once upon a time, I _did_ have some friends other than you," Rath said, somewhat disdainfully. "Rune knows more or less what's going on, but the others—I don't know what he's told them, if anything, but I'd like to see them anyway-"

"That really is _not _a good idea," Kharl interrupted firmly. "Outside of this house, all other dangers aside, you run the risk of being seen by one of your parents' investigators, or at least leaving a trail for them. I suspect they've begun searching further afield by now, maybe even outside of the city—but they probably _are_ still watching your friends' houses."

Rath shrugged. "So what? If Rune can protect our house, then I can call him beforehand and he can do the same thing for wherever we plan to meet. No problem."

"If they're already watching the place, it may not be as simple. And what about while you're on your way there?" Kharl asked, sounding slightly exasperated. "In any case, don't you see that it would be best if as few people as possible knew that you were even still in town? Not," he added as Rath bristled, "that I think your friends would ever betray you—on purpose. Again, however, accidents happen. They could be overheard talking about you amongst themselves, or any number of things-"

"Fine," Rath spat, jumping to his feet and stalking moodily to the window. "I'll just rot away in here for the rest of my never-ending life, then, shall I?"

Kharl frowned at his back. "Okay," he said quietly. "Okay... If it's important to you, you should do it. It's not as if I really have any authority over you, and neither does anyone else for that matter. Just know that I _don't_ approve, and that I'm telling you so because I care about you."

Rath just stretched out his wings. "Thanks," he said, with little or no emotion.

Kharl eyed him for another moment, and then leaned back on the couch, a hand over his eyes. "I hope these little arguments are something we're going to grow out of," he murmured. Rath willed himself to relax, and made no reply.

* * *

The rest of the evening passed rather quietly, as neither of them were very interested in making conversation at the moment, and the next morning was much the same. Understandably, Rath's nerves were already quite frayed by the time he called Rune.

"Hello?" the witch answered solemnly.

"I'm coming over," Rath snapped.

There was the sound of clattering from the other end, and a distant yelp, followed by scrambling as Rune dived to pick the phone up again. "R-R-Rath?" he sputtered. "_What _are you- You can't leave the house! If you're seen-"

"Oh, shut up," he groaned. "And call the others—Thatz, Kitchel, Cesia. I should be there around one-thirty, two."

"RATH-" Rath grimaced, and hung up. Kharl, watching him from the couch, arched an eyebrow but said nothing. Indeed, they didn't exchange more than one or two words until just after one-thirty, as Kharl stopped his car in front of Rune's home.

Rath was in the midst of unbuckling his seatbelt, when Kharl surprised him by reaching over suddenly to lightly grasp his cheek and turning his face towards him so that he could kiss his forehead. "Be careful," he whispered into the boy's bangs.

"Yeah, yeah," Rath grumbled. His shoulders slumped imperceptibly as he walked up to the door.

Perhaps two seconds after he knocked, the door flew open and arms flung themselves around his neck. "_Rath!_" a female voice bawled in his ear. "You're really here—I've been so worried, I didn't know what had happened or whether I'd ever see you again-" the girl released her stranglehold on him at last, and held him by both ears to examine his face, and he saw at last that it was Cesia. "You're so pale! Have you been getting enough to eat—you haven't been sick or something- ?"

"Arrgh," he said weakly, and she abruptly flushed and let go of him, turning away to dab at her eyes with her sleeve. An arm reached passed her and pulled him inside, and only then did he realize that the other three were also standing in the entryway. Thatz and Kitchel were both beaming at him—Kitchel's eyes looked suspiciously watery as well—but Rune looked frazzled.

"Come on—shut the door—let's get away from the windows-"

Once they'd made their way further into the house, and Kitchel and Thatz had both had turns greeting him, Rath was able to turn his attention to the witch. "Do you think we'll be safe here?" he said significantly.

Rune gave a put-upon sigh. "For the time being, yes-" he shook his head helplessly, "-cookies?"

"Don't mind if I do," Thatz said cheerily, and the group moved on to the living room where a gigantic plate of them was ready and waiting. It was only after several minutes of eating and very light conversation that Cesia finally leaned forward, meeting Rath's eyes.

"Alright. Where've you been?" she asked seriously and without preamble. "We've all been worried sick; you've haven't come to school in _ages_ and we've all had detectives at our houses and nobody knows anything except that you had some kind of argument with your parents about your tutor or something right before you left—you didn't really leave because of a silly little thing like that?" Rath snorted, and she gawked at him. "Oh, _Rath-_"

"It's not what you think," he said abruptly. He looked at them all for a long moment. Well, after all, what did he have to lose, anymore...? He inhaled deeply, and looked down at his hands. "We're… _together_."

Cesia was shocked speechless, Thatz choked on his third cookie, and Rune buried his face in his hands, muttering. Kitchel said dazedly: "But… isn't he a _guy-_"

"Yeah," Rath said wearily. Thatz grinned awkwardly, thinking of showers after gym class, but Rune looked up then and glowered at them all.

"Oh, suck it up," he said irritably. "You were all happy enough to see him a minute ago, and he was just as _gay_ then as he is now. It's no big deal." Kitchel blushed, and Thatz looked away guiltily; Cesia, however, gave a brave smile.

"So- so your folks found out about you two, and, what? Fired him, I guess?" Rath nodded. "So you ran away to be with him? Are you living with him now?"

Rath opened his mouth to speak, but Rune shook his head violently. "_Don't_ tell anyone where you're living right now," he said sternly. "It's too risky, even if we are your friends. Would you like to have to leave the country, or worse?" Rath caught the oddness of the last phrase, and wondered for the first time what would happen if the police turned up at Kharl's house at night.

"Is it that important?" Kitchel asked, frowning. When Rune and Rath both stared at her, she looked down hurriedly, fidgeting with a half-eaten cookie. "I didn't mean—that is, what I'm trying to say—I know they didn't want you two together at first, but now that they've seen how serious you are, don't you think you can talk them into allowing it? I mean, you are coming back eventually, right? You can't just drop out of school..."

"I guess I'll go to school," he said sadly, "eventually. But I can't ever go home again. It's not just about whether they'll allow us… and no, I'm not just being proud or something stupid, I really _can't_..."

"Ooh, I know!" Thatz said excitedly. "This tutor, he's actually into drugs, or in a gang or something! Like the mafia!" Rath grinned a little in spite of himself.

"Something like that, yeah," he said airily; Cesia snorted in disbelief.

"Oh well, whatever; as long as you two are happy together, I'm all for it," she decided. "To have found someone who you're willing to throw your whole life away for..." She sighed dreamily and they all laughed, and after that the conversation was much more relaxed. Since Rath couldn't tell them too many details about his current situation, they took turns catching him up on their latest news instead, which he found refreshingly mundane. Thatz and Kitchel, he discovered, were finally officially dating each other. Cesia informed him that Rune was also seeing someone, but she was from outside the school and he had so far declined to introduce her to any of them, and Rath had a hard time not smirking. Eventually they all moved to the kitchen when Rune decided to bake another batch of cookies, and—even though much of the dough was eaten by Thatz before it ever saw the oven—they had a modest supply of fresh snacks by three o'clock. Rath felt as though he hadn't laughed so much in weeks.

"Rath, _man_," Thatz said, throwing an arm around his neck, "you should seriously spend the night." Rune squawked, which Thatz took as mere offense at the fact that he hadn't been consulted. "The cops haven't been to see any of us since the first couple days, it'll be fine. We can watch movies, eat popcorn-"

Rath held up his hands, shaking his head. "Sorry, can't," he said apologetically. "I said I'd be back by sundown, so if I'm not, er, the person I'm living with might worry..." He felt strangely guilty as he said this, even though it was technically true.

Rune glanced at a clock. "Speaking of that, are you being picked up? The sun's still setting pretty early right now..."

Rath looked up too, and realized with a jolt that it was four-thirty already. It would probably only be about two more hours... Much more startling, however, was the insight that the blond's question had granted him. "I don't know," he blurted. "We- we didn't actually talk about that..." Rune goggled at him; the others looked rather flabbergasted as well. He flushed. "Er... I'm sure he's coming, he dropped me off after all... Let's play cards or something..."

Rath had a hard time focusing on the game, however, as five o'clock came and went. It took nearly half an hour to get here from Kharl's house, after all; for being so disapproving of this outing in the first place, he was certainly cutting it a bit close. As five thirty approached, Thatz laughed at him for being so uptight.

"What's the big deal? Unless he really _is_ in the mafia or something... If he's not here by sunset, why don't you just call?" Rath grinned nervously.

"Um, I... don't actually know his phone number, off the top of my head-"

Thatz arched an eyebrow. "You don't know your own boyfriend's number? Sounds kind of fishy..."

"Well, I've never actually needed to call him before!" Rath said defensively. "I can always just call a cab... I'll give him a little longer, I guess..."

Five-thirty passed, and Rath took to pacing the living room and peering through the window shade every time he passed in spite of Rune's feeble protests. Even though they didn't fully understand, the others picked up on his worry just the same, and the conversation gradually faded away as they watched him. Rune came to stand next to him by the window.

"The Council's been freaking out about me," Rath confined in a whisper, "more than he thought they would. You don't think they would've-"

"Shh!" Rune hissed, casting a wary glance back at their friends. "Kaana's been passing the rumors to me, but I'm sure it's not that bad."

"But Tetheus was at our house just last night, he's-"

"_Shh!_" he repeated simply, though Rath thought from the way his eyes widened that Rune was familiar with the Council Head. When Cesia glanced their way, he said, more loudly: "It's only forty-five minutes 'til sundown. You'd better call a taxi. I can pay."

Rath grinned gratefully. "No, I've got money—where's the phone?"

It took nearly ten minutes for the cab to show up, and during that time Rath progressed to something perilously close to a nervous wreck. Cesia graced him with a forced casual smile.

"When will we see you again?"

He winced. "I don't know. A... lot of people don't want me leaving the house right now," he admitted. "It was a pain in the ass just getting to come today."

She shook her head sadly. "Oh, you crazy boy. What have you gotten messed up in...?"

He was about to joke that if he told her, he'd have to kill her, but he stopped short and laughed bitterly.

Finally the taxi arrived; he exchanged hurried good-byes—Kitchel yanked him into a hug that nearly broke his spine, but Cesia just bit her lip and waved—and he jogged down the walk to the street. It was only when he was already in the car, of course, that he considered the wisdom of giving out his address to a complete stranger when he couldn't even tell his friends, but all he could really do was tell the man to drop him off at the next street over and hope for the best.

They made good time through Rune's suburban area, and Rath began to relax. He hadn't, sadly, counted on traffic.

"Calm down, buddy!" the cabbie said irritably as Rath groaned and squirmed in his seat. "It's only a couple more miles, but you picked about the worst time for this part of town. A lot of people around here get off around six, lucky ba-..." He caught sight of Rath's face in the review mirror just then, however, and his voice trailed off. "You know, it might almost be quicker on foot," he muttered, and crossed his fingers under the seat.

Rath threw the money at him, and staggered out into the street.

The sidewalks were also crowded, but most people gave him a wide berth. His face was blanched, his eyes were wide, and he clutched at his chest as his breath came in short, sharp gasps. The street lamps were flickering to life around him, and restaurants and stores lit up in neon colors. He made it less than a block before he gave up, lurching into an alleyway before some well-meaning idiot could be bothered to ask him what was wrong.

He had never tried to resist the Change before. Up until now he'd been perfectly happy to have it over with as quickly as possible—and normally it was over only a couple minutes after the onset of the first symptoms. It had already been at least that long, and he was losing his grasp on day-time reality in flashes—for a split-second he could see his surroundings with perfect clarity, but in that vampiric way that had very little to do with light or color, and then he only had an instant of peace after that faded away before he became conscious of the blood—the scent and the pulse of it, in all of the hundreds of people on the sidewalks, in their cars, in the shops... He sank to his knees at the end of the alley—the coldness of the puddle he knelt in seemed to cut him to the bone, and he was acutely aware of how the flesh scraped off his knuckles against the grimy bricks of the alley wall.

The tears pricking the corners of his eyes, for the first time since before he could remember—were definitely from the pain... _damnit... he _warned_ me..._

"Rath Illuser!"

His head snapped up towards the sound so fast that he experienced a moment of vertigo—a sensation which was not improved by the bright light which was flashed in his eyes before he even got a chance to see anything. He fought against it, though, staring straight into the light in horror.

"It _is_ you!" the voice said, and then: "Christ, kid, you're really messed up, aren't you?" it added, not unkindly. The light was taken off his face, moving on to reveal his trembling body, and Rath's increasingly good vision allowed him to see something of the stranger: a man, not too old or young, with dark hair and glasses, and... He took the flashlight off Rath long enough to illuminate the badge he was holding out, but Rath had already seen it. "Don't worry, everything's going to be fine; I'm a private investigator your parents hired. I'm going to call the police, and then your parents—we're probably going to have to take you down to the station first, but if you're feeling well enough, you should be able to spend the night at home..."

Rath was having a difficult time understanding the stranger's words; it as if he was trying to hear them over the sound of rushing water. He could hear the pounding of his own blood in his ears so much better... "..._no_..." he managed to mumble—but he was stunned to see his own hand reaching out toward the stranger.

The man, with a frown of growing concern, took a step forward; Rath jerked his hand back and pressed himself against the wall at the end of the alley as hard as he could. "Hey, are you hurt? I can call a doctor too..."

Rath shook his head, but he was too stunned to speak—because his sense of blood had returned, and it wasn't going away. Having someone this close probably brought it out, and now it was making it harder to concentrate on keeping the rest of the Change at bay... He was so absorbed in keeping his mind blank that he did not even notice the detective kneeling down in front of him until it was too late.

The man enfolded him up in a loose and somewhat awkward hug. "Shh. It's going to be okay, Rath. Just relax..." Rath's hand fisted convulsively around the stranger's jacket, torn between pushing him away and pulling him close, and though his mouth strained open and his lungs burned, he couldn't quite seem to remember how to breathe...

_Someone_, Rath thought, _will come and save us._

"You have to – le-" he tried to say, but the last word was lost in a scream.

The stranger screamed too, and fell back, as Rath's wings broke through underneath his hands—the flashlight bounced away, its light playing crazily over the alley wall. A small part of Rath—detached and drifting, and overwhelmingly overruled—wondered why the man didn't run. What did he look like right now, that he could paralyze a person like that...?

_He remembered... a familiar face, warping into a grimace, darkening eyes, night-colored wings drawing the silence close..._

He picked the detective up by the throat and slammed him in to the alley wall very fast; the man probably wasn't even aware of what had happened. _He remembered warm arms drawing him close ever so gently, as if he might break, but even the sound of his own heartbeat was fading and he did not feel the closeness the way he always had before..._

There was a moment of stillness then, in which Rath felt with some kind of a sixth sense that he'd never experienced before the way his own warm breath ghosted across the stranger's cheek and coiled around his neck. _A miserable little gasp muffled into the nape of his neck, soft brush of lips- _Then the spell was broken as the man gurgled something and jerked, kicking out, and clawed at Rath's face... _Then there was pain, for ever and ever, a pain to banish every other pain—burning his blood and finding each and every crevice inside him and filling it with fire, and someone was crying softly..._

Did he really want to do that to this man? No—it somehow seemed like it would be best to put him out of his misery quickly. Something inside Rath was beckoning him to tear the man to shreds, but he managed to restrain himself; he sank his fangs into the flesh with great tenderness.

Warmth and an indescribable sweetness filled him, and Rath shuddered in pleasure. It was different with humans, he realized; so much better than drinking another vampire's blood. It was like sex and chocolate and flying _and_...

The detective writhed violently at first, but it was not too long before he became still. His hands, which had been clenched around Rath's neck, relaxed and fell away. When Rath finished and released his own hold, the man crumpled at his feet like an empty bag. Rath stared down at him without blinking. _And he remembered that eventually the pain faded into a great tiredness, and he was laid down lovingly, and watched over... but this was different, wasn't it?_

He felt... so great. Reality had finally settled, and he was _whole _again—more than whole, really. He felt _alive_ in a way that he had never felt after drinking pig's blood. No matter how much of that he drank, he would always be slightly queasy all night; he'd _never_ felt like this before. He was thinking so clearly, and he had so much energy, he could just...

Covering his face with his hands, the boy sunk down into a tight little ball next to the corpse.

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**AN: **O! Drama! (whimpers) Whatever shall become of poor Rath now...? (cackles) Well, perhaps if you're lucky you'll find out sooner rather than later this time. Reviews, please...?


	15. Flight

**AN: **(the lights come on) (gestures dramatically) (the curtain goes up) Behold! The last chapter!1!one! (sweats) At… at long last… (sways) It's kind of hard to believe. All the time I've spent on it, all the friends I've dragged into it (not to mention the friends I've made!)… xDD And on top of all that, I'm also stunned from being dragged hiking all over Pennsylvania by my grandparents _while_ experiencing really bad allergies for the first time in my life, so really you should be grateful that I'm getting myself to type anything at all (I could be doing jigsaws on Gaia!). (sweats) So I guess it's a good thing, really, that I only got one review this time. (sigh) Yes, I know, I brought it on myself… (bow, bow) I'm sorry! Heh, hopefully you won't have to put up with such laziness whenever I finally get around to the sequel… you'll just have to wait a few years until I start posting it, lol…

Sarehptar: OMG a spastic chicken! (spazzes) Hee… Review response response response: I'm assuming that I will be able to drag poor Leeayre into beta'ing the prequel and sequel as well, yes. Whenever I finally get around to working on them. I've got an Eragon fic that I started eons ago that I really ought to finish, and also we've started working on Purple. Or, at least, Leeayre has been working on it; I haven't even replied to her notes yet Dx; I blame everything on my grandparents! (And it doesn't help that I'm close to finishing my quest on Gaia, heh). I might actually be able to work on the prequel and sequel at the same time as the other two… as soon as I get caught up on my e-mail, anyway. (hunted expression) But you don't want to hear about that (really). So… (takes magnifying glass to Fallacy) Must read more closely! Dx Hmm, I have also recently discovered the Kharl/Silk pairing, but that's not yaoi and anyway it's even less cracky than Kharl/Star Princess… Is it really weirder than Kharl/Tetheus or Kharl/Twins? o.o Hee, and I must admit that I never even would have thought of pairings _that_ weird if it weren't for how the My Immortal storyline wound up going—so in a sense, for the prequel, for once I conceived of a story for reasons other than the desire to see specific characters doing kinky things to each other; I feel so proud xD (sweats) Yes, I'm probably okay with Rim not having a back-story, too… but now I have this strange desire to write _something_ about her o.o; (She is one of the cooler female characters in DK, I think…). (makes cross with fingers) No! No more story ideas!! X.x; Speaking of, you're right, Kharl is definitely a pimp xD I'm not even quite sure why anymore… It's just, he's very ancient, so of course he would have been with a few people (will I ever disclose his exact age? Only time will tell, mwuha…), and also I wanted to include more characters, and give Rath a good shock of course xD Annnyway… I'm glad you liked the length. Sadly, this one isn't very long. (sigh) But in a way that's good, right? Because it took me so long to add those scenes that made the last couple chapters so long, heh… Also, I'm glad that you enjoyed the scene with Rath seeing his friends, even if it might have had its flaws. I kind of got the feeling when I was working on that chapter that there might have been something… a little over the top, about how trusting/naïve/whatever Rath's friends were being? Well, they obviously knew that Rath wasn't telling them everything, and that he knew that they knew etc. (both Thatz and Cesia kind of implied this, I think)… I guess they realized the gravity of the situation and knew not to push it. Whether or not real friends would do that, I don't know xD As for the Rune thing… I don't have a perfect answer (nothing like this was shown in the story) but I think by this point they would've gotten the feeling that Rune somehow knew what was going on. I think Rath said something about wondering what Rune had told the others… (ponders) I wonder if I even left that in. (sweats) It's sad when I can't even remember what I wrote, lol… Hmm—(does great big huge extravagant happy dance, possibly knocking things over in her enthusiasm) I'm also really really glad you liked the last scene. That was the one Leeayre had me redo twice xD So really you should be in awe of her ability; she put as much effort into it as I did, at least ;) But in any case, I have to say I'm pleased too, even though there's really no good excuse for it—Kharl should've just picked him up in the first place. (sweats) That was kind of one of those things that I had to come up with an excuse for real quick after the fact; I do this far too often… (flails) But oh well! Things happen! It would've happened eventually anyway, right? Heh… And, omg, old geezer xD Sorry… great minds think alike, I guess… I wonder if I ever inadvertently copied any of your things, heh. Oh, and as for Hawaii—I'm not saying nothing. (cackle) O.O;; Wow. This thing is, like, a page. How did that happen? Must shut up and let you read the chapter! Loves back :)

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**Chapter Fifteen: **Flight

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The sound of his heartbeat. The sound of the cars on the street, the people on the sidewalk—and the sound of _their_ heartbeats, and the smell of their blood...

Rath lay in the alleyway for ages, staring at his knees, and willed his senses to fill him up and block everything else out. And they were _so_ strong now. Even in the dark he could make out the fraying beginnings of a hole in his pants, and he could taste the blood in his mouth like a thousand different tastes and could feel the grit of the ground pressing against his ear. It wasn't enough, though, because he could also feel his hands around the other man's neck and his teeth sinking into his throat, and could remember clearly the look in his eyes as he realized that he was about to die, even though he'd barely noticed it at the time...

He only realized that there was someone else in the alley with him when he heard a muffled shriek. He stayed perfectly still; he wasn't really too hungry now, and he hoped whoever it was would go away—but then someone whispered, "Rath..." A moment later hands grasped his shoulders, pulling him up to his knees and into a tight hug.

The person holding him up was babbling something, but he couldn't really understand. He was overwhelmed by the sudden closeness. "Rune," he moaned, "don't touch me..." His lips brushed the tender skin of the other boy's neck, and he shuddered violently.

Rune gave another yelp, and jumped back to stare at him with wide eyes. "Right," he said shakily. "Right..." Rath sank back to the ground. Rune's expression went lax for a moment, and then he nodded. "I just told Kharl I found you. He's been looking too; he'll be here any second." Rath merely grimaced spastically; Rune prattled on, as if unable to stand the quiet. "Kharl showed up just a few minutes after you left. He was worried, so we left the others at my house and followed you, but then we got stuck in traffic, and then he had to park the car and find a place to Change, but thankfully he had a, a big water cooler just in case—and then I felt death -" He stopped abruptly, and fell into a miserable silence.

Only perhaps a minute passed before, with only a faint _woosh_ and a blur of motion, Kharl dropped into their alley. He took one look at the scene, and gathered Rath into his arms. Rath did not push him away, but, to their mutual horror, burst at last into tears. Rune looked away, pained, but he could not block out the sounds that echoed back and forth between the close walls.

"You didn't know him," Kharl said softly. "People you don't know die every day, and crying isn't going to bring any of them back."

"I killed him!"

"It wasn't your fault, you couldn't help it-"

"Yes, I could've! _You_ can!"

"If you insist on blaming yourself," the older man said wryly, "_do_ let me know, so I can stop trying to help..." Rath sniffled wetly into his shoulder. "Really, in spite of your tough attitude and dark music, you're rather naive, aren't you?"

"How can you—can you _say_ that?" he gasped, hiccupping.

"Because whatever I say, it won't change the fact that you've killed a man, and ultimately it comes down to you to decide how you're going to deal with it," he whispered. "Unless, of course, you'd like me to drain you of all your blood and leave you with a stake through your heart for the rest of eternity." Rath shuddered. "But I like to think that people don't normally _really_ want to die, not when someone is trying to kill them anyway... So there's not a whole lot I can do here. Whether you decide to hold on to it or let go, he's still dead. But it's actually kind of comforting, isn't it—whatever you do, it doesn't matter to _him_—so which would you prefer?" He smiled, and kissed Rath's hair. The boy had stopped crying as he'd talked, and hung limply in his arms.

"It's your fault," Rath murmured wearily.

"Yes, it is," Kharl agreed easily. "I should never have allowed myself to be delayed in picking you up. I should never have let you go in the first place. I should never have Turned you into a vampire. It's also your fault, though. And it's Rune's fault, and Cesia's and Thatz's and Kitchel's too, and your parents', and _his_ as well, whoever he was..."

Rath suddenly sniffled hugely, and pushed away from him, sitting back against the alley wall. "Why _didn't_ you come sooner?" he asked, looking at his hands.

Kharl absentmindedly picked a piece of old newspaper out of the boy's hair. "The Council somehow found out I'd driven you to your friends," he admitted. "Some vampire must have seen us; I'm afraid my face is pretty well-known... Tetheus was furious. He was at our house when I got back from work, demanding that I go pick you right up, but we wound up arguing. I should've called, but I didn't think to until after I was in the car... I took the longer way to avoid traffic, but we still would've made it home with time to spare..." Rath flinched, but he just shrugged as if to say 'what can you do?'

"You're going to have to leave the country," Rune said, quiet but determined. "I can help. I can erase all the records and memories you leave behind... I can set this up to look like a casual mugging," he offered, gesturing at the corpse even though Rath noticed that he wouldn't look directly at it. Kharl smiled at him.

"You are very kind," he said solemnly. "Yes... I think we'll go to America." Rath's hands clenched. "I haven't been there since the sixties... goodness, what memories..."

"_America_?" Rath blurted. "Just—just like that?" As Kharl turned back to him, his smile turned somewhat sad, as if he knew what he was thinking.

"I'm afraid so," he said gently. "If it's at all possible, you'll see your friends again eventually, but not now, do you understand? You _must_ see how dangerous it is now. It's going to be bad enough for them as it is; it's going to be hard for them to keep the police from finding out that you were with them tonight..."

"I'll take care of things," Rune repeated firmly. He smiled down at Rath over Kharl's head. "And _I'll_ keep in touch. I haven't visited America since the eighties, myself..." Though he still looked rather stunned and helpless, Rath managed a watery smile, and Kharl beamed.

"You have an amazingly fortunate taste in friends," he informed Rath. "But for the time being, if Rune is to work his magic properly and if we are to make a speedy departure, we had better get moving." Rath uttered a whimper of protest—and then a rather louder screech, as Kharl scooped him up in his arms.

Rune grinned at him. "See you later, then."

Rath was blushing miserably, but managed a small wave. "'Bye..." And then, in a rush that knocked the air out of him and left him feeling like his stomach was somewhere far behind, they were gone. Up above the alley, up above the highest buildings they could see, to where the clouds were close above them... Rath felt rather selfish somehow, since he had wings of his own, but at the same time he wanted so very much to just fall asleep with the wind carrying all the sound away before it could ever reach his ears...

Eventually they landed in Kharl's yard. He didn't set Rath down until they reached the door, and even then he didn't let him go until he was sure he could stand on his own.

"Gather up your things," he said quietly. "We'll be bringing only what we absolutely need."

Rath gaped around at the knee-deep clutter of Kharl's living room. "What about...?" he asked weakly. Kharl chuckled, and looked around himself as if he hadn't properly noticed the mess before.

"Ah, well... Maybe I'll come back for some of it later. The vast majority of it is unnecessary, I assure you. I can only stay in the same place for a decade or two before people start to notice my unchanging appearance; I'm used to this. You'll get used to it too. Just worry about your own things."

Rath wandered numbly through the house, picking up an item here and there, but he didn't feel as if he was making much progress. Eventually he found himself on the floor surrounded by the t-shirt collection that he had been trying to pare down; he didn't even realize that he was just staring at it until he noticed that Kharl was there.

"Oh—I'm sorry -" he muttered, coloring. Kharl squatted down next to him.

"_Let it go_," he commanded. "You're not a cold-blooded murderer, you _know_ that." He smiled thinly. "Recall that I've been around for centuries, since long before the vampire reformation. If I can live with thousands of intentional killings, I think you can deal with this."

Rath picked out a shirt at random and folded it sloppily to avoid eye-contact. "You're really insensitive sometimes, you know," he griped.

"It's just tough love," he said gently, teasingly. Then he reached out to hook a finger loosely around Rath's chin and turned his face toward him. "This is the price of immortality," he said more seriously. "Surely you knew it would come to this at some point."

Rath looked down. "I... didn't think too hard about it," he admitted. "I thought it didn't matter—nothing would make a difference..."

Kharl's hand fluttered to his side. "Does it matter more than you thought?" he asked lightly, while guilt sniggered in the dark corners of his mind.

Rath gave him a burning look, and then suddenly lunged at him. Kharl fell back into a pile of clothes that all smelled like Rath, and Rath kissed him violently, and Kharl tasted a lingering taint of human blood in his mouth, and an earth-shaking pulse shot through his body. He moaned and shuddered; he couldn't remember the last time he'd moaned from nothing more than a kiss... Rath settled on top of him, pillowing his head on his chest, and smiled a little to hear his heart beat.

"It mattered to him," he said. "To that guy, and to his family, his wife and kids or his parents or whatever he had. But as for me..." He picked absently at one of Kharl's buttons. "I guess I either let it matter, or I don't, huh? As long as _I'm_ still alive, I might as well enjoy myself." He smirked. "It's very rock and roll, actually."

"I thought rock and roll these days was all about teen suicide," Kharl said, amused.

"That too."

Kharl kissed him deeply then, seemingly intent on tasting every crevice of his mouth. Rath's nails fumbled and snagged on the back of his shirt.

"_Kharl..._" he gasped, and tried to hide it by adding: "I thought... we had to pack..."

"Mmm," Kharl complained.

"And..."

"_Hnn_..."

"...I can't speak good English."

Kharl pulled back to give him a quizzical look. "You got an A in that class. Just like all your other classes, you little brat."

Rath shrugged. "It could've been an A-plus. My written parts were perfect and I did the extra-credit, but I have a terrible accent."

Kharl smiled. "It's okay, there will be lots of Japanese tourists. We're going to Hawaii—if you still want to, of course..."

Rath laughed at that, until tears came to his eyes. "Oh my god... Of course I do, of course..." He managed to get a hold of himself again, and pulled Kharl's head down to whisper in his ear. "Let's do it on the beach," he said, smirking widely.

"Let's do it right here," Kharl whispered back, and Rath snickered, but when he leaned in for a kiss Rath held him back.

"Well—answer me something first," he insisted. "Do you _really_ think this couldn't last forever, no matter what?"

"What do _I_ think?" Kharl gave him a guarded look. "It matters a lot to you, doesn't it...?"

"Not really," Rath said, and Kharl could tell he wasn't lying because he sounded amused—and for the first time he almost wondered if it could. In a fit of impossible giddiness, Kharl stuck his tongue out at him, and this time the boy leaned up and kissed him. For a very long time, that appeared to be enough for both of them.

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**Owari**

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**AN: **Yes, it's done! For real! The end! No more! Finito! Or however you spell it!

…(looks around ninja-like)…

Well? What are you waiting for? Review, and then go read all of Leeayre and Sarehptar's stories! xD And… see you later :)


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